Ex  ICtbrtfi 


SEYMOUR    DURST 


■i  '  'Tort  nieiiw    ^^rn^erc/am.  oj^  Je  Manhatofus 


^hen  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
"Ever'thmg  comes  t'  him  who  watts 

EiKcept  a  loaned  book." 


OLD     YORK     LIBRARY   -OLD     YORK     FOUNDATION 


r^  / 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/hudsonOObruc_0 


THE  HUDSON 


BY 


WALLACE  BRUCE 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 

ALFRED    FREDERICKS 

WTTH  PHOTO-EKGRAVl^'GS    OF    SCENERY 


PUBLISHED  BY 

BRYANT   LITERARY  UNION 

NEW   YORK 


COPYRIGHT,   1894,  BY  WALLACE  BRUCE. 


>  or  X.  V.  HAIGHT,  POUOHKHPSlF,  ) 


CO:XTENTS, 


PAGE. 

Oreetinq:           ......  9 

The  Hudson  (Historical  Analysis),             .           .           .  11 

Desbrosses  Street  Pier  to  Twenty-Second  Street,  53 

Pier,  Twenty-Second  Street,  to  Yonkers,    .           .  56 

YONKERS  TO  West  Point,        .           .           .           .  78 

West  Point  to  Newburgh,  ,  .  .  .127 

Newburgh  to  Poughkeepsie,            .           .           .  137 
poughkeepsie  to  kingston  point,      ,          .           .167 

Kingston  Point  to  Catskill,         ...  192 

Catskill  to  Hudson,          .....  220 

Hudson  to  Albany,      .....  226 

Albany  to  Saratoga  Springs,    ....  243 

Saratoga  to  the  Adirondacks,        .           .           .  254 

Saratoga  to  Lake  George,          ....  256 

Lake  George  to  Tahawas,     ....  264 

Albany  to  Binghamton,    ....  286 

Albany  to  Niagara  Falls,    .           .          ,           ,  290 

Condensed  Points,  ....                     .  298 

The  Geology  of  the  Hudson-           ...  307 


THE  HUDSON  AT  WEST  POINT,  WITH  VIGNETTE  OF 
KOSCIUSKO'S  GARDEN. 


ILLUSTEATIONS. 


The  Half  Moon,  by  Alfred  Fredericks,        -          -          -          -  h 

From  Hudson's  "Half  Moon"  to  "Hudson  bv  Daylight,"     -  17 

Break  Neck  Mountain,          .......  23 

Oloffe  Van  Cortland's  Dream,  by  Alfred  Fredericks,       •  29 

Trophy  Point,     ------.-.  35 

Rounding  the  Point,        .---.-.  ^^ 

General  Grant's  Tomb,          -                   .....  61 

Mount  Taurus,         ........  gg 

SUNNYSIDE,      with      VIGNETTE      OF      SLEEPY      HOLLOW,      BY      ALFRED 

Fredericks,                     .......  gi 

Sleepy  Hollow  Church,  ky  Alfred  Fredericks,           -          -  91 

Sugar  Loaf,          --..-....  103 

Anthony's  Nose,  (from  the  South),       -          -          -          -          -     '  108 

In  the  Highlands,         --.....    facing  112 

Northern  Gate  of  the  Highlands  (from  West  Point),           -  121 

The  Dade  Monument  at  West  Point,  -----  125 

Washington's  Headquarters  at  Newburgh,       ...  131 

Morning  View  at  Blue  Point,  by  Al^kd  Fredericks,    -          -  155 

Day  Line  Steamers  Passing  Under  tB  Poughkeepsie  Bridge,  i6q 

The  Man  in  the  Mountain,  by  AlfreM Fredericks,       -          -  207 

Kaaterskill  Falls,          -          -          -     if    .          .           .          ,  213 

Rip  Van  Winkle's  Return,  by  Alfred  Fredericks,       -          -  215 

Lower  Falls  of  the  Kaaterskill,  -          .          -          .          -  217 

Lake  George,    .....--.-  259 

Boat  Ride,  Ausable  Chasm,               -          -          -          -                     •  267 

Wall-Face  Mountain,  by  Alfred  Fredericks,     -          .          .  280 

An  Adirondack  Camp-Fire,  by  Alfred  Fredericks,          -  238 


GREETING  :  The  Hudson,  more  than  any  other  river, 
has  a  distiyict  personality — a7i  absohite  soul-quality.  With 
moods  as  various  as  the  lo7igings  of  human  life  she  responds 
to  our  joys  in  sympathetic  sweetness,  and  soothes  our  sor- 
rows as  hy  a  gentle  compa7iionship.  If  the  Mississippi  is 
the  King  of  Rivers  the  Hudso7i  is,  par  excellence,  the 
Queen,  and  continually  charins  hy  her  ''infinite  variety." 
It  often  see7ns  that  there  are  in  reality  four  separate  Hud- 
sons — the  IIudso7i  of  Beauty,  the  IIudso7i  of  History,  the 
Hudson  of  Literature,  and  the  lIudso7i  of  Com7nerce.  To 
hlend  the7n  all  into  a  lovi7ig  cable  reaching  fro7n  heart  to 
heart  is  the  purpose  of  the  7uriter.  It  has  been  his  privi- 
lege to  walk  agai7i  and  again  every  foot  of  its  course  fro7n 
the  wilde7'7iess  to  the  sea,  to  linger  beside  her  fou7itains  and 
dream  amid  her  historic  shrines,  a7id  from  ma7iy  braided 
threads  of  7nemory  it  has  been  his  hope  to  set  fo7'th  with 
affectionate  enthusiasm  ichat  the  studeyit  or  traveler  wishes 
to  see  and  hnoio  of  her  7najesty  a7id  glory, 

W.B. 


THE  HUDSON. 


The  Hudson  River  is  a  noble  threshold  to  a  great  Continent 
and  New  York  Bay  a  fitting  portal.  The  traveler  who  enters 
the  Narrows  for  the  first  time  is  impressed  with  wonder,  and  the 
charm  abides  even  with  those  who  pass  daily  to  and  fro  amid  its 
beauties.  No  other  river  in  the  world  approaches  the  Hudson  in 
varied  grandeur  and  sublimity,  and  no  other  city  has  so  grand  and 
commodious  a  harbor  as  New  York.  It  has  been  the  privilege  of 
the  writer  of  this  hand-book  to  see  again  and  again  most  of  the 
streams  of  the  old  world  "  renowned  in  song  and  story,"  to  behold 
sunrise  on  the  Bay  of  Naples  and  sunset  at  the  Golden  Gate  of 


12  THE  HUDSON. 

San  Francisco,  but  the  spell  of  the  Hudson  remains  unbroken, 
and  the  bright  bay  at  its  mouth  reflects  the  noontide  without  a 
rival. 

The  Hudson  has  often  been  styled  "The  Rhine  of  America." 
There  is,  however,  little  of  similarity  and  much  of  contrast. 
The  Rhine  from  Dusseldorf  to  Manheim  is  only  twelve  hundred 
to  fifteen  hundred  feet  in  breadth.  The  Hudson  from  New  York 
to  Albany  averages  more  than  five  thousand  feet  from  bank  to 
bank.  At  Tappan  Zee  the  Hudson  is  ten  times  as  wide  as  the 
Rhine  at  any  point  above  Cologne.  At  Bonn  the  Rhine  is  barely 
one-third  of  a  mile,  whereas  the  Hudson  at  Haverstraw  Bay  is 
over  four  miles  in  width.  The  average  breadth  of  the  Hudson 
from  New  York  to  Poughkeepsie  is  almost  eight  thousand  feet. 

The  Mountains  of  the  Rhine  also  lack  the  imposing  character 
of  the  Highlands.  The  far-famed  Drachenfels,  the  Landskron, 
and  the  Stenzleburg  are  only  seven  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above 
the  river  ;  the  Alteberg  eight  hundred,  the  Rosenau  nine  hun- 
dred, and  the  great  Oelberg  thirteen  hundred  and  sixty-two. 
According  to  the  latest  United  States  Geological  Survey  the  en- 
tire group  of  mountains  at  the  northern  gate  of  the  Highlands  is 
from  fourteen  hundred  and  five  to  sixteen  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  feet  in  height,  not  to  speak  of  the  Catskills  from  three 
thousand  to  almost  four  thousand  feet  in  altitude. 

It  is  not  the  fault  of  the  Rhine  with  its  nine  hundred  miles  of 
rapid  flow  that  it  looks  tame  compared  with  the  Hudson.  Even 
the  Mississippi,  draining  a  valley  three  thousand  miles  in  extent, 
looks  insignificant  at  St.  Louis  or  New  Orleans  contrasted  with 
the  Hudson  at  Tarrytown.  The  Hudson  is  in  fact  a  vast  estu- 
ary of  the  sea ;   the  tide  rises  two  feet  at  Albany  and  six  inches 


THE  HUDSON.  13 

at  Troy.  A  Professor  of  the  Berlin  University  says  :  "  You  lack 
our  castles  but  the  Hudson  is  infinitely  grander."  Thackeray, 
in  "The  Virg-inians,"  gives  the  Hudson  the  verdict  of  beauty; 
and  George  William  Curtis,  comparing-  the  Hudson  with  the 
rivers  of  the  Old  World,  has  gracefully  said  :  '*  The  Danube  has 
in  part  glimpses  of  such  grandeur,  the  Elbe  has  sometimes  such 
delicately  penciled  effects,  but  no  European  river  is  so  lordly 
in  its  bearing,  none  flows  in  such  state  to  the  sea." 

Baedeker,  a  high  and  just  authority,  in  his  recent  Guide  to  the 
United  States  says  :  "  The  Hudson  has  sometimes  been  called  the 
American  Rhine,  but  that  title  perhaps  does  injustice  to  both 
rivers.  The  Hudson,  through  a  great  part  of  its  extent,  is  three 
or  four  times  as  wide  as  the  Rhine,  and  its  scenery  is  grander  and 
more  inspiring  ;  while,  though  it  lacks  the  ruined  castles  and  an- 
cient towns  of  the  German  river,  it  is  by  no  means  devoid  of  his- 
torical associations  of  a  more  recent  character.  The  vine-clad 
slopes  of  the  Rhine  have,  too,  no  ineffective  substitute  in  the  bril- 
liant autumn  coloring  of  the  timbered  hillsides  of  the  Hudson." 

What  must  have  been  the  sensation  of  those  early  voyagers, 
coasting  a  new  continent,  as  they  halted  at  the  noble  Gateway  of 
the  river  and  gazed  northward  along  the  green  fringed  Pali- 
sades ;  or  of  Hendrich  Hudson,  who  first  traversed  its  waters 
from  Manhattan  to  the  Alohawk,  as  he  looked  up  from  the  chubby 
bow  of  his  "Half  Moon"  at  the  massive  columnar  formation  of 
the  Palisades  or  at  the  great  Mountains  of  the  Highlands  ;  what 
dreams  of  success,  apparently  within  reach,  were  his,  when 
night  came  down  in  those  deep  forest  solitudes  under  the 
shadowy  base  of  Old  Cro'  Nest  and  Klinkerberg  Mountain,  where 
his  little  craft  seemed  a  lone  cradlo  of  civilization ;  and  then, 


14  THE  HUDSON. 

when  at  last,  with  immediate  purpose  foiled,  he  turned  his  boat 
southward,  having-  discovered,  but  without  knowing"  it,  some- 
thing infinitely  more  valuable  to  future  history  th-an  his  long 
soug-ht  "Northwestern  Passage  to  China,"  how  he  must  have 
gazed  with  blended  wonder  and  awe  at  the  distant  Catskills 
as  their  sharp  lines  came  out,  as  we  have  seen  them  many  a 
September  morning,  bold  and  clear  along  the  horizon,  and  learned 
in  g"entle  reveries  the  poetic  meaning  of  the  blue  Ontioras  or 
"  Mountains  of  the  Sky."  How  fondly  he  must  have  gazed  on 
the  picturesque  hills  above  Apokeepsing  and  listened  to  the  mur- 
muring music  of  Winnikee  Creek,  when  the  air  was  clear  as  crys- 
tal and  the  banks  seemed  to  be  brought  nearer,  perfectly  re- 
flected in  the  glassy  surface,  while  here  and  there  his  eye  wan- 
dered over  grassy  uplands,  and  rested  on  hills  of  maize  in  shock, 
looking  for  all  the  world  like  mimic  encampments  of  Indian 
wigwams  !  Then  as  October  came  with  tints  which  no  European 
eye  had  ever  seen,  and  sprinkled  the  hill-tops  with  gold  and  rus- 
set, he  must  indeed  have  felt  that  he  was  living  an  enchanted 
life,  or  journeying  in  a  fairy  land  ! 

How  graphically  the  poet  Willis  has  put  the  picture  in  musi- 
cal prose:  "Fancy  the  bold  Englishman,  as  the  Dutch  called 
Hendrich  Hudson,  steering-  his  little  yacht  the  '  Haalve  Maan,' 
for  the  first  time  through  the  Highlands.  Imagine  his  anxiety 
for  the  channel  forgotten,  as  he  gazed  up  at  the  towering  rocks, 
and  round  the  green  shores,  and  onward  past  point  and  opening 
bend,  miles  away  into  the  heart  of  the  country;  yet  with  no 
lessening  of  the  glorious  sti'eam  before  him  and  no  decrease  of 
promise  in  the  bold  and  luxuriant  shores.  Picture  him  lying  at 
anchor  below   Newburgh  with   the  dark  pass  of  the  Wey-Gat 


THE  HUDSON.  15 

frowning-  behind  him,  the  lofty  and  blue  Catskills  beyond,  and 
the  hillsides  around  covered  with  lords  of  the  soil  exhibiting 
only  less  wonder  than  friendliness." 

If  Willis  forgot  the  season  of  the  year  and  left  out  the  colors 
Talmage  has  fully  supplied  them  in  a  recent  and  glowing  vision, 
to  complete  the  picture  as  Hudson  saw  it:  "Along  our  river 
and  up  and  down  the  sides  of  the  great  hills  there  was  an  in- 
describable mingling  of  gold,  and  orange  and  crimson  and  saffron, 
now  sobering  into  drab  and  maroon,  now  flaring  up  into  solferino 
and  scarlet.  Here  and  there  the  trees  looked  as  if  their  tips 
had  blossomed  into  fire.  In  the  morning  light  the  forests  seemed 
as  if  they  had  been  transfigured  and  in  the  evening  hours  they 
looked  as  if  the  sunset  had  burst  and  dropped  upon  the  leaves. 
It  seemed  as  if  the  sea  of  divine  glory  had  dashed  Us  surf  to  the 
top  of  the  crags  and  it  had  come  dripping  down  to  the  lowest 
leaf  and  deepest  cavern." 

On  such  a  day  in  1883  it  was  the  privilege  of  the  writer  to 
stand  before  150,000  people  at  Newburgh  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Disbanding  of  the  Army  under 
Washington,  and,  in  a  poem  entitled  "The  Long  Drama,"  to 
portray  the  great  mountain  background  bounding  the  southern 
horizon  with  autumnal  splendor  : 

October  lifts  with  colors  bright 

Her  mountain  canvas  to  the  sky, 
The  crimson  trees  aglow  with  light 

Unto  our  banners  wave  reply. 

Like  Horeb's  bush  the  leaves  repeat 
From  lips  of  flame  with  glory  crowned:  — 

"Put  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet, 
The  place  they  trod  is  holy  ground." 


16  THE  HUDSON. 

Such  was  the  vision  Hendrich  Hudson  must  have  seen  in  those 
far-off  September  and  October  days,  and  such  the  picture  which 
visitors  still  compass  long  distances  to  behold. 

"  It  is  a  far  cry  to  Loch  Awe  *'  says  an  old  Scottish  proverb,  and 
it  is  a  long  step  from  the  sleepy  rail  of  the  "  Half  Moon "'  to  the 
roomy-decked  floating-  palaces — the  "New  York"  and  the 
"Albany."  Before  beginning  oar  journey  let  us,  therefore, 
bridge  the  distance  with  a  few  intermediate  facts,  from  1609  to 
1894,  relating  to  the  discovery  of  the  river,  its  early  settlement, 
its  old  reaches  and  other  points  essential  to  the  fullest  enjoy- 
ment of  our  trip,  which  in  sailor-parlance  we  might  style  "a 
gang-plank  of  history  "  reaching  as  it  does  from  the  old-time 
yachtto  the  modern  steamer,  and  spanning  almost  three  hundred 
years. 

Its  Discovery.— In  the  year  1524,  thirty-two  years  after  the 
discovery  of  America,  the  navigator  Verrazzani,  a  French  offi- 
cer, anchored  off  the  island  of  Manhattan  and  proceeded  a  short 
distance  up  the  river.  The  following  year,  Gomez,  a  Portu- 
guese in  the  employ  of  Spain,  coasted  along  the  continent  and 
entered  the  Narrows.  Several  Dutch  captains  also  visited  our 
noble  bay  about  1598,  but  it  was  reserved  for  Hendrich  Hudson, 
with  a  mixed  crew  of  eighteen  or  twenty  men  in  the  "  Half 
Moon,"  to  explore  the  river  from  Sandy  Hook  to  Albany,  and 
carry  back  to  Europe  a  description  of  its  beauty.  He  had  already 
made  two  voyages  for  the  Muscovy  Company— an  English  cor- 
poration—in quest  of  a  passage  to  China,  via  the  North  Pole  and 
Nova  Zembla. 

In  the  autumn  of  1608  he  was  called  to  Amsterdam,  and  sailed 
from  Texel,  April  5,  1609,  in  the  service  of  the  Dutch  East  India 


THE  HUDSON.  19 

Company.  Reaching  Cape  Cod  August  6,  and  Chesapeake  Bay 
August  28th. he  coasted  north  to  Sandy  Hook.  He  entered  the  Bay 
of  Xew  York  September  the  3d.  passed  through  the  Narrows,  and 
anchored  in  what  is  now  called  Newark  Bay :  on  the  12th  re- 
sumed his  voyage,  and.  drifting  with  the  tide,  remained  over 
night  on  the  13th  about  three  miles  above  the  northern  end  of 
Manhattan  Island  ;  on  the  14th  sailed  through  what  is  now  known 
as  Tappan  Zee  and  Haverstraw  Bay,  enterad  the  Highlands  and 
anchored  for  the  night  near  the  present  dock  of  West  Point.  On 
the  morning  of  the  loth  beheld  Newburgh  Bay,  reached  Catskill 
on  the  16th,  Athens  on  the  17th,  Castleton  and  Albany  on  the 
18th,  and  then  sent  out  an  exploring  boat  as  far  as  Waterford. 
He  became  thoroughly  satisfied  that  this  route  did  not  lead  to 
China,— a  conclusion  in  harmony  with  that  of  Champlain.  who, 
the  same  summer,  had  been  making  his  way  south,  through 
Lake  Champlain  and  Lake  George,  in  quest  of  the  South  Sea. 

There  is  something  humorous  in  the  idea  of  these  old  mariners 
attempting  to  sail  through  a  continent  3.000  miles  wide,  seamed 
with  mountain  chains  from  2,000  to  15,000  feet  in  height.  Hud- 
son's return  voyage  began  September  23d.  He  anchored  again 
in  Newburgh  Bay  the  25th,  arrived  at  Stony  Point  October  1st, 
reached  Sandy  Hook  the  4th.  and  then  returned  to  Europe. 

First  Description  of  the  Hudson.— The  official  record 
of  the  voyage  was  kept  by  Robert  .Juet,  mate  of  the  Half  Moon, 
and  his  journal  abounds  with  graphic  and  pleasing  incidents  as 
to  the  people  and  their  customs.  At  the  Narrows  the  Indians 
visited  the  vessel,  "clothed  in  mantles  of  feathers  and  robes 
of  fur,  the  women  clothed  in  hemp:  red  copper  tobacco 
pipes,  and  other  things  of  copper,  they  did   wear  about  their 


20  THE  HUDSON. 

necks."  At  Yonkers  they  came  on  board  in  large  numbers. 
Two  were  detained  and  dressed  in  red  coats,  but  they  sprang 
overboard  and  swam  away.  At  Catskill  they  found  "a  very 
loving-  people,  and  very  old  men.  They  brought  to  the  ship  In- 
dian corn,  pumpkins  and  tobaccos."  At  Castleton  the  "  Master's 
mate  went  on  land  with  an  old  savage,  governor  of  the  country, 
who  carried  him  to  his  house  and  made  him  good  cheere."  "  I 
sailed  to  the  shore,"  he  writes,  "  in  one  of  their  canoes,  with  an 
old  man,  who  was  chief  of  a  tribe,  consisting  of  forty  men  and 
seventeen  women.  These  I  saw  there  in  a  house  well  constructed 
of  oak  bark,  and  circular  in  shape,  so  that  it  has  the  appearance 
of  being  built  with  an  arched  roof.  It  contained  a  large  quan- 
tity of  corn  and  beans  of  last  year's  growth,  and  there  lay  near 
the  house,  for  the  purpose  of  drying,  enough  to  load  three  ships, 
besides  what  was  growing  in  the  fields.  On  our  coming  to  the 
house  two  mats  were  spread  out  to  sit  upon,  and  some  food  was 
immediately  served  in  well-made  wooden  bowls." 

"  Two  men  were  also  dispatched  at  once,  with  bows  and  arrows 
in  quest  of  game,  who  soon  brought  in  a  pair  of  pigeons,  which 
they  had  shot.  They  likewise  killed  a  fat  dog,  (probably  a  black 
bear),  and  skinned  it  in  great  haste,  with  shells  which  they  had 
got  out  of  the  water." 

The  well-known  hospitality  of  the  Hudson  River  valley  has, 
therefore,  "high  antiquity"  in  this  record  of  the  garrulous 
writer.  At  Hudson  the  Indians  flocked  to  the  vessel,  and  Hud- 
son determined  to  try  the  chiefs  to  see  "  whether  they  had  any 
treachery  in  them."  "  So  they  took  them  down  into  the  cabin, 
and  gave  them  so  much  wine  and  aqua  vitce  that  they  were  all 
merry.     In  the  end  one  of  them  was  drunk,  and  they  could  not 


THE  HUDSON.  21 

tell  how  to  take  it."  The  old  chief,  who  took  the  aqua  vitce,  was 
so  grateful  when  he  awoke  the  next  day,  that  he  showed  them 
all  the  country,  and  gave  them  venison. 

Passing  down  through  the  Highlands  the  Half  Moon  was  be- 
calmed near  Stony  Point  and  the  "people  of  the  Mountains'' 
came  on  board  and  marvelled  at  the  ship  and  its  equipment. 
One  canoe  kept  hanging  under  the  stern  and  an  Indian  pilfered  a 
pillow  and  two  shirts  from  the  cabin  windows.  The  mate  shot 
at  him  and  struck  him  in  the  breast  and  killed  him.  A  boat 
was  lowered  to  recover  the  articles  "when  one  of  tbem  in  the 
water  seized  hold  of  it  to  overthrow  it,  but  the  cook  seized  a 
sword  and  cut  off  one  of  his  hands  and  he  was  drowned."  At  the 
head  of  Manhattan  Island  the  vessel  was  again  attacked.  Ar- 
rows were  shot  and  two  more  Indians  were  killed,  then  the  at- 
tack was  renewed  and  two  more  were  sla  1  n. 

It  might  also  be  stated  in  passing,  that  soon  after  the  arrival  of 
Hendrich  Hudson  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  one  of  the  Eng- 
lish soldiers,  John  Coleman,  was  k  illed  by  an  arrow  shot  in  the 
throat.  "He  was  buried,"  according  to  Ruttenber,  "upon  the 
adjacent  beach,  the  first  European  victim  of  an  Indian  weapon  on 
the  Mahicanituk.  Coleman's  point  is  the  monument  to  this  oc- 
currence." 

The  Half  Moon  never  returned  and  it  will  be  remembered  that 
Hudson  never  again  saw  ths  shores  of  the  river  that  he  dis- 
covered. He  was  to  leave  his  name  however  as  a  monument  to 
further  bravery  and  hardihood  in  Hudson's  Bay,  where  he  was 
set  adrift  by  a  mutinous  crew  in  a  little  boat  to  perish  in  the 
midsummer  of  1611. 

Names  of  the  Hudson.— The  Iroquois  called  the  river  the 


22  THE  HUDSON. 

"  Cohatatea."  The  Mahicans  and  Lenapes  the  ''  Mahicanituk,-' 
or  ''the  ever-flowing  waters.''  Hudson  styled  it  the  '' Man- 
hattes''  from  the  tribe  at  its  mouth,  the  -French  the  Bio  de 
Montaigne.  The  Dutch  named  it  the  "Mauritius,"'  in  1611,  in 
honor  of  Prince  Maurice  of  Nassau,  and  afterwards  the  Great 
River.  It  has  also  been  referred  to  as  the  "Shatemuck" 
inverse.  It  was  called  "  Hudson's  River  "  not  by  the  Dutch, 
as  generally  stated,  but  by  the  English,  as  Henry  Hudson 
was  an  Englishman,  although  he  sailed  from  a  Dutch  port, 
with  a  Dutch  crew,  and  a  Dutch  vessel.  It  was  also  called  the 
"  North  River,"  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Delaware,  the  South 
River.  It  is  still  frequently  so  styled  and  the  East  River  almost 
"  boxes  the  compass  ''   as  applied  to  Long  Island  Sound. 

Heiglit  of  Hills  and  Mountains.— It  is  interesting  to  hear 
the  opinions  of  different  people  journeying  up  and  down  the 
Hudson  as  to  the  height  of  Mountains  along  the  river.  The 
Palisades  are  almost  always  under-estimated,  probably  on  ac- 
count of  their  distance  from  the  steamer.  It  is  only  when  we 
consider  the  size  of  a  house  at  their  base,  or  the  mast  of  a  sloop 
anchored  against  the  shore,  that  we  can  fairly  judge  of  their 
magnitude.  Various  Guide  Books,  put  together  in  a  day  or  a 
month,  by  writers  who  have  made  a  single  journey,  or  by  persons 
who  have  never  consulted  an  authority, have  gone  on  multiplying 
blunder  upon  blunder,  but  the  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
published  during  the  past  year,  has  at  last  given  reliable  infor- 
mation. According  to  their  maps  just  issued  the  Palisades  are 
from  300  to  500  feet  in  height,  the  Highlands  from  785  to  1625, 
and  the  Catskills  from  3000  to  3885  feet. 


THE  HUDSON. 


25 


THE   PALISADES. 

At  Fort  Lee 300  feet. 

Opposite  Mt.  St.  Vincent 400     " 

Opposite  Hastings 500     " 

THE   HIGHLANDS 

Sug-ar  Loaf 785  feet. 

Dunderberg- 865 

Anthony's  Nose 900 

Storm  King 1368 

Old  Cro'  Nest 1405 

Bull  Hill 1425 

South  Beacon 1625 

THE  CATSKILLS. 

North  Mountain 3000  feet. 

Platterskill 3135     '' 

Outlook 3150 

Stoppel  Point 3426 

Round  Top 3470 

High  Peak 3660 

Sugar  Loaf 3782 

Plateau 3855 

Sources  of  tlie  Hudson.— The  Hudson  rises  in  the  Adiron- 
dacks.  and  is  formed  by  two  short  branches:  the  northern  branch 
(17  miles  in  length),  has  its  source  in  Indian  Pass,  at  the  base  of 
Mount  Mclntyre;  the  eastern  branch  (20  miles  in  length),  in  a 
little  lake  poetically  called  the  "'  Tear  of  the  Clouds,"  4,321  feet 
above  the  sea  under  the  summit  of  Tahawus,  the  noblest 
mountain  of  the  Adirondacks,  5,344  feet  in  height.     About  thirty 


26  THE  HUDSON. 

miles  below  this  junction  it  takes  the  waters  of  Boreas  River, 
and  in  the  southern  part  of  Warren  County,  nine  miles  east  of 
Lake  George,  the  tribute  of  the  Schroon.  About  fifteen  miles 
north  of  Saratoga  it  receives  the  waters  of  the  Sacandaga,  then  the 
streams  of  the  Battenkill  and  the  Walloomsac  ;  and  a  short  dis- 
tance above  Troy  its  largest  tributary,  the  Mohawk.  The  tide 
rises  six  inches  at  Troy  and  two  feet  at  Albany,  and  from 
Troy  to  New  York,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  the 
river  is  navigable  by  large  steamboats. 

The  principal  streams  which  flow  into  the  Hudson  between 
Albany  and  New  York  are  the  Norman's  Kill,  on  west  bank,  two 
miles  south  of  Albany  ;  the  Mourdener's  Kill,  at  Castleton,  eight 
miles  below  Albany,  on  the  east  bank  ;  Coxsackie  Creek,  on  west 
bank,  seventeen  miles  below  Albany ;  Kinderhook  Creek,  six 
miles  north  of  Hudson  ;  Catskill  Creek,  six  miles  south  of  Hud- 
son ;  Roeliffe  Jansen's  Creek,  on  east  bank,  seven  miles  south  of 
Hudson ;  the  Esopus  Creek,  which  empties  at  Saugerties ;  the 
Rondout  Creek,  at  Rondout ;  the  Wappingers,  at  New  Ham- 
burgh ;  the  Fishkill,  at  Matteawan.  opposite  Newburgh ;  the 
Peekskill  Creek,  and  Croton  River.  The  course  of  the  River  is 
nearly  north  and  south,  and  drains  a  comparatively  narrow  val- 
ley. 

It  is  emphatically  the  "  River  of  the  Mountains,"  as  it  rises  in 
the  Adirondacks  and  flows  seaward  east  of  the  Helderbergs, 
the  Catskills,  the  Shawangunks,  through  twenty  miles  of  the 
Highlands  and  along  the  base  of  the  Palisades.  More  than 
any  other  river  it  preserves  the  character  of  its  origin,  and  the 
following  apostrophe  from  the  writer's  poem,  "  The  Hudson," 
condenses  its  continuous  mountain-and-lake-like  quality  : 


THE  HUDSON.  27 

O  Hudson,  mountain  born  and  free. 

Thy  youth  a  deep  impression  takes, 
For,  naountain-guarded  to  the  sea, 

Thy  course  is  but  a  chain  of  lakes. 

The  First  Settlement  of  tlae  Hudson.— In  1610  a  Dutch 
ship  visited  Manhattan  to  trade  with  the  Indians  and  was  soon 
followed  by  others  on  like  enterprise.  In  1613  Adrian  Black 
came  with  a  few  comrades  and  remained  the  winter.  In  1614 
the  merchants  of  North  Holland  organized  a  company  and  ob- 
tained from  the  States  General  a  charter  to  trade  in  the  New 
Netherlands,  and  soon  after  a  colony  built  a  few  houses  and  a  fort 
near  the  Battery.  The  entire  island  was  purchased  from  the  In- 
dians in  1624  for  the  sum  of  sixty  guilders  or  about  twenty-four 
dollars.  A  fort  was  built  at  Albany  in  1623  and  known  as 
Fort  Aurania  or  Fort  Orange.  From  Wassenaer's  "Historic 
van  Furopa,"  1621-1632,  as  translated  in  the  3d  volume  of 
the  Documentary  History  of  New  York,  a  castle — Fort  Nas- 
sau—was built  in  1624,  on  an  island  on  the  north  side  of  the 
River  Montague,  now  called  Mauritius.  "  But  as  the  natives 
thjre  were  somewhat  discontented,  and  not  easily  managed,  the 
proje(!tors  abandoned  it,  intending  now  to  plant  a  colony  among 
the  Maikans,  (Mahicans),  a  nation  lying  twenty-five  miles  (Amer- 
ican measure  seventy-five  miles)  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  up- 
wards." In  another  document  we  learn  that  "  The  West  India 
Company  being  chartered,  a  vessel  of  130  lasts,  called  the  New 
Netherland,  (whereof  Cornelius  Jacobs,  of  Hoorn,  was  skipper), 
with  thirty  families,  mostly  Walloons,  was  equipped  in  the  spring 
of  1623." 

In  the  beginning  of  May   they  entered   the  Hudson,  found  a 


28  THE  HUDSON. 

Frenchman  lying-  in  the  mouth  of  the  river,  who  would  erect  the 
arms  of  the  King-  of  France  there,  but  the  Hollanders  would  not 
permit  him,  opposing  it  by  commission  from  the  Lord's  States 
General  and  the  Directors  of  the  West  India  Company,  and  "  in 
order  not  to  be  frustrated  therein,  they  convoyed  the  French 
man  out  of  the  rivers."  This  having  been  done,  they  sailed 
up  the  Maikans,  140  miles,  near  which  they  built  and  completed 
a  fort,  named  "Orange,"  with  four  bastions,  on  an  island,  by 
them  called  "  Castle  Island."  This  was  probably  the  island  be- 
low Castleton,  now  known  as  Baern  Island,  where  the  first  white 
child  was  born  on  the  Hudson. 

In  another  volume  we  read  that  "  a  colony  was  planted  in  1625 
on  the  Manhetes  Island,  where  a  fort  was  staked  out  by  Master 
Kryn  Fredericke,  an  engineer.  The  counting-house  is  kept  in  a 
stone  building  thatched  with  reed  ;  the  other  houses  are  of  the 
bark  of  trees.  There  are  thirty  ordinary  houses  on  the  east  side 
of  the  river,  which  runs  nearly  north  and  south."  This  is  the 
description  of  New  York  City  when  Charles  the  First  was  King 
of  England. 

Moreover,  we  should  not  forget  that  Communipaw  outranks  New 
York  in  antiquity,  and,  according  to  Knickerbocker,  whose  quiet 
humor  is  always  read  and  re-read  with  pleasure,  might  justly  be 
considered  the  Mother  Colony.  For  lo  !  the  sage  Oloffe  Van  Kort- 
landt  dreamed  a  dream,  and  the  good  St.  Nicholas  came  riding 
over  the  tops  of  the  trees,  and  descended  upon  the  island  of 
Manhattan  and  sat  himself  down  and  smoked,  "and  the  smoke 
ascended  in  the  sky,  and  formed  a  cloud  overhead;  and 
Oloffe  bethought  him,  and  he  hastened  and  climbed  up  to  the  top 
of  one  of  the  tallest  trees,  and  saw  that  the  smoke  spread  over  a 


THE  HUDSON.  29 

^eat  extent  of  country ;  and,  as  he  considered  it  more  atten- 
tively, he  fancied  that  the  great  volume  assumed  a  variety  of 
marvelous  forms,  where,  in  dim  obscurity,  he  saw  shadowed  out 
palaces  and  domes  and  lofty  spires,  all  of  which  lasted  but  a  mo- 
ment, and  then  passed  away."  So  New  York,  like  Alba  Longa 
and  Rome,  and  other  cities  of  antiquity,  was  under  the  imme- 
diate care  of  its  tutelar  saint.     Its  destiny  was  foreshadowed,  for 


OLOFFE  VAN  CORTLANDT'S  DREAM. 

now  the  palaces  and  domes  and  lofty  spires  are  real  and  genuine, 
and  something  more  than  dreams  are  made  of. 

The  Original  Manors  and  Patents.— According  to  a  map 
of  the  Province  of  New  York,  published  in  17T9,  the  Phillips- 
burg  Patent  embraced  a  large  part  of  Westchester  County. 
North  of  this  was  the  Manor  of  Cortland,  reaching  from  Tarry- 


30  THE  HUDSON. 

town  to  Anthony's  Nose.  Above  this  was  the  Phillipse  Patent, 
reaching  to  the  mouth  of  Fishkill  Creek,  embracing  Putnam 
County.  Between  Fishkill  Creek  and  the  Wappingers  Creek 
was  the  Rombout  Patent.  The  Shuyler  Patent  embraced  a  few 
square  miles  in  the  vicinity  of  Poughkeepsie.  Above  this  was  the 
purchase  of  Falconer  «S;:  Company,  and  east  of  this  tract  what 
was  known  as  the  Great  Nine  Partners.  Above  the  Falconer 
Purchase  was  the  Henry  Beekman  Patent,  reaching  to  Esopus 
Island,  and  east  of  this  the  Little  Nine  Partners.  Above  the 
Beekman  Patent  was  the  Schuyler  Patent.  Then  the  Manor  of 
Livingston,  reaching  from  Rhinebeck  to  Catskill  Station,  oppo- 
site Catskill.  Above  this  Rensselaerwick,  reaching  north  to  a 
point  opposite  Coeymans.  The  Manor  of  Rensselaer  extended 
on  both  sides  of  the  river  to  a  line  running  nearly  east  and  west, 
just  above  Troy.  North  and  west  of  this  Manor  was  the  County 
of  Albany,  since  divided  into  Rensselaer,  Saratoga,  Washington, 
Schoharie,  Greene  and  Albany.  The  Rensselaer  Manor  was  the 
only  one  that  reached  across  the  river.  The  west  bank  of  the 
Hudson,  below  the  Rensselaer  Manor,  is  simply  indicated  on  this 
map  of  1779  as  Ulster  and  Orange  Counties. 

New  Amsterdam. — For  about  fifty  years  after  the  Dutch 
Settlement  the  island  of  Manhattan  was  known  as  New  Amster- 
dam. Washington  Irving,  in  his  Knickerbocker  History,  has 
surrounded  it  with  a  loving  halo  and  thereby  given  to  the  early 
records  of  New  York  the  most  picturesque  background  of  any 
State  in  the  Union,  Among  other  playful  allusions  to  the  In- 
dian names  he  takes  the  word  Manna-hatta  of  Robert  Juet  to 
mean  "the  island  of  manna,"  or  in  other  words  a  land  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey.     He  refers  humorously  to  the  Yankees  as 


THE  HUDSON.  31 

**an  ingenious  people  who  out-barg-ain  them  in  the  market,  out- 
speculate  them  on  the  exchange,  out-top  them  in  fortune,  and 
run  up  mushroom  palaces  so  high  that  the  tallest  Dutch  family 
mansion  has  not  wind  enough  left  for  its  weather-cock." 

What  would  the  old  burgomaster  think  now  of  the  mounting 
palaces  of  trade  and  the  piled  up  stories  of  our  Commercial 
Buildings  ?  In  fact  the  highest  structure  Washington  Irving 
himself  ever  saw  in  New  York  was  a  nine-story  sugar  refinery. 
With  elevators  running  two  hundred  feet  a  minute,  there  seems 
no  limit  to  these  modern  mammoths. 

From  the  very  beginning  there  was  a  quiet  jealousy  between 
the  Dutch  Settlement  on  the  Hudson  and  the  English  Settlers  in 
Massachusetts.  To  quote  from  an  old  English  history,  "it  was 
the  original  purpose  of  the  Pilgrims  to  locate  near  Nova  Scotia, 
but,  upon  better  consideration,  they  decided  to  seat  themselves 
more  to  the  southward  on  the  bank  of  Hudson's  River  which 
falls  into  the  sea  at  New  York." 

To  this  end  ''they  contracted  with  some  merchants  who  were 
willing  to  be  adventurers  with  them  in  their  intended  settlement 
and  were  i)roprietor.s  of  the  country,  but  the  contract  bore  too 
heavy  upon  them,  and  made  them  the  more  easy  in  their  disap- 
pointment. Their  agents  in  England  hired  the  Mayflower,  and, 
after  a  stormy  voyage,  "fell  in  with  Cape  Cod  on  the  9th  of 
November.  Here  they  refreshed  themselves  about  half  a  day 
and  then  tacked  about  to  the  southward  for  Hudson's  River.'' 

"  Encountering  a  storm  they  became  entangled  in  dangerous 
shoals  and  breakers  and  were  driven  back  again  to  the  Cape." 
Thus  Plymouth  became  the  first  English  settlement  of  New  Eng- 
land.   Another  historian  says  that  it  was  their  purpose  "  to  set- 


32  THE  HUDSON. 

tie  on  the  Connecticut  Coast  near  Fairfield  County,  lying-  between 
the  Connecticut  and  Hudson's  River." 

From  the  very  first  the  Dutch  occupation  was  considered  by 
the  English  as  illegal.  It  was  undoubtedly  part  of  the  country 
the  coasts  of  which  were  first  viewed  by  Sebastian  Cabot,  who 
sailed  with  five  English  ships  from  Bristol  in  May,  1498,  and  as 
such  was  afterwards  included  in  the  original  province  of  Vii> 
ginia.  It  was  also  within  the  limits  of  the  country  granted  by 
King  James  to  the  Western  Company,  but,  before  it  could  be  set- 
tled, the  Dutch  occupancy  took  place,  and,  in  the  interest  of 
peace,  a  license  was  granted  by  King  James. 

The  Dutch  thus  made  their  settlement  before  the  Puritans 
were  planted  in  New  England,  and  from  their  first  coming,  "being 
seated  in  Islands  and  at  the  mouth  of  a  good  River  their  planta- 
tions were  in  a  thriving  condition,  and  they  begun,  in  Holland, 
to  promise  themselves  vast  things  from  their  new  colony." 

Sir  Samuel  Argal  in  1617  or  1618,  on  his  way^  from  Virginia  to 
New  Scotland,  insulted  the  Dutch  and  destroyed  their  planta- 
tions. "To  guard  against  further  molestations  they  secured  a 
License  from  King  James  to  build  Cottages  and  to  plant  for  traf- 
fic as  well  as  subsistence,  pretending  it  was  only  for  the  con- 
veniency  of  their  ships  touching  there  for  fresh  water  and  fresh 
provisions  in  their  voyage  to  Brazil ;  but  they  little  by  little  ex- 
tended their  limits  every  way,  built  Towns,  fortified  them  and 
became  a  flourishing  colony." 

"In  an  island  called  Manhattan,  at  the  nouth  of  Hudson's 
River,  they  built  a  City  which  they  called  New  Amsterdam,  and 
the  river  was  called  by  them  the  Great  River.  The  bay  to  the 
east  of  it  had  the  name  of  Nassau  given  to  it.     About  one    hun- 


THE  HUDSON.  33 

dred  and  fifty  miles  up  the  River  they  built  a  Fort  which  they 
called  Orange  Fort  and  from  thence  drove  a  profitable  trade 
with  the  Indians  who  came  overland  as  far  as  from  Quebec  to 
deal  with  them." 

The  Dutch  Colonies  were  therefore  in  a  very  thriving-  con- 
dition when  they  were  attacked  by  the  English.  The  justice  of 
this  war  has  been  freelj^  criticised  even  by  English  writers,  "be- 
cause troops  were  sent  to  attack  New  Amsterdam  before  the 
Colony  had  any  notice  of  the  war." 

The  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  thus  briefly  puts  the  history  of 
those  far-ofi"  days  when  New  York  was  a  town  of  about  1500 
inhabitants  :  "  The  English  Government  was  hostile  to  any  other 
occupation  of  the  New  World  than  its  own.  In  1621  James  I. 
claimed  sovereignty  over  New  Netherland  by  right  of  '  occu- 
pancy.' In  1632  Charles  I.  reasserted  the  English  title  of 
'first  discovery,  occupation  and  possession.'  In  1654  Cromwell 
ordered  an  expedition  for  its  conquest  and  the  New  England 
Colonies  had  engaged  their  support.  The  treaty  with  Holland 
arrested  their  operations  and  recognized  the  title  of  the  Dutch. 
In  1664  Charles  the  Second  resolved  upon  a  conquest  of  New 
Netherland.  The  immediate  excuse  was  the  loss  to  the  revenue 
of  the  English  Colonies  by  the  smuggling  practices  of  their 
Dutch  neighbors.  A  patent  was  granted  to  the  Duke  of  York 
giving  to  him  all  the  lands  and  rivers  from  the  west  side  of  the 
Connecticut  River  to  the  east  side  of  Delaware  Bay." 

"On  the  29th  of  August  an  English  Squadron  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Col.  Richard  Nicolls,  the  Duke's  Deputy  Governor, 
appeared  off  the  Narrows,  and  on  Sept.  8th  New  Amsterdam, 
defenseless  against  the  force,  was  formally  surrendered  by  Stuy- 


34  THE  HUDSON. 

vesant.  In  1673  (August  7th)  war  being  declared  between 
England  and  Holland  a  Dutch  squadron  surprised  New  York, 
captured  the  City  and  restored  the  Dutch  authority,  and  the 
names  of  New  Netherland  and  New  Amsterdam.  But  in  July, 
1674,  a  treaty  of  peace  restored  New  York  to  English  rule.  A 
new  patent  was  issued  to  the  Duke  of  York,  and  Major  Edmund 
Andros  was  appointed  Governor." 

New  York.— On  the  10th  of  November,  1674,  the  Province  of 
New  Netherland  was  surrendered  to  Governor  Major  Edmund 
Andros  on  behalf  of  his  Britannic  Majesty.  The  letter  sent  by 
Governor  Andros  to  the  Dutch  Governor  is  interesting  in  this 
connection  :  "  Being  arrived  to  this  place  with  orders  to  re- 
ceive from  you  in  the  behalf  of  his  Majesty  of  Great  Britain, 
pursuant  to  the  late  articles  of  peace  with  the  States  Generals  of 
the  United  Netherlands,  the  New  Netherlands  and  Dependen- 
cies, now  under  your  command,  I  have  herewith,  by  Capt. 
Philip  Carterett  and  Ens.  Caesar  Knafton,  sent  you  the  respective 
orders  from  the  said  States  Generall,  the  States  of  Zealand  and 
Admirality  of  Amsterdam  to  that  effect,  and  desire  you'll  please 
to  appoint  some  short  time  for  it.  Our  soldiers  having  been  long 
aboard,  I  pray  you  answer  by  these  gentlemen,  and  I  shall  be 
ready  to  serve  you  in  what  may  lay  in  my  power.  Being  from 
aboard  his  Majesty's  ship,  The  Diamond,  at  anchor  near.  Your 
very  humble  servant.  Staten  Island  this  22d  Oct.,  1674."  After 
nineteen  days'  deliberatiun,  which  greatly  annoyed  Governor 
Andros,  New  Amsterdam  was  transferred  from  Dutch  to  Eng- 
lish authority, 

'*In  1683  Thomas  Dongan  succeeded  Andros.  A  general  As- 
sembly, the  first  under  the  English  rule,  met  in  October,  1683, 


THE  HUDSON.  37 

and  adopted  a  Charter  of  Liberties,  which  was  confirmed  by  the 
Duke.  In  August,  1684,  a  new  covenant  was  made  with  the 
Iroquois,  who  formally  acknowledged  the  jurisdiction  of  Great 
Britain,  but  not  subjection.  By  the  accession  of  the  Duke  of 
York  to  the  English  throne  the  Duchy  of  New  York  became  a 
royal  province.  The  Charters  of  the  New  England  Colonies 
were  revoked,  and  together  with  New  York  and  New  Jersey  they 
were  consolidated  into  the  dominion  of  New  p]ngland.  Dongan 
was  recalled  and  Sir  Edmund  Andros  was  commissioned  Govern- 
or General.  He  assumed  his-vice  regal  authority  August  11th, 
1688.  The  Assembly  which  James  had  abolished  in  1686  was  re- 
established, and  in  May  declared  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the 
people,  reaffirming  the  principles  of  the  repealed  Charter  of 
Liberties  of  October  30th,  1683." 

From  this  time  on  to  the  Revolution  of  1776  there  is  one  con- 
tinual struggle  between  the  Royal  Governors  and  the  General 
Assembly.  The  Governor  General  had  the  power  of  dissolving 
the  Assembly,  but  the  Assembly  had  the  power  of  granting 
money.  British  troops  were  quartered  in  New  York  which  in- 
creased the  irritation.  The  Conquest  of  Canada  left  a  heavy 
burden  upon  Great  Britain,  a  part  of  which  their  Parliament 
attempted  to  shift  to  the  shoulders  of  the  Colonies. 

A  general  Congress  of  the  Colonies,  held  in  New  York  in  1765, 
protested  against  the  Stamp  Act  and  other  oppressive  ordin- 
ances and  they  were  in  part  repealed. 

A  Page  of  Patriotism.— During  the  long  political  agita- 
tion New  York,  the  most  English  of  the  colonies  in  her  manners 
and  feelings,  was  in  close  harmony  with  the  Whig  leaders  of 
England.     She  firmly  adhered  to  the  principle  of  the  sovereignty 


38  THE  HUDSON. 

of  the  people  which  she  had  inscribed  on  her  ancient  ' '  Charter 
of  Liberties."  Althoug-h  larg-ely  dependent  upon  commerce  she 
was  the  first  to  recommend  a  non-importation  of  English  mer- 
chandise as  a  measure  of  retaliation  against  Britain,  and  she  was 
the  first  also  to  invite  a  general  congress  of  all  the  colonies.  On 
the  breaking  out  of  hostilities  New  York  immediately  joined  the 
patriot  cause.  The  English  authority  was  overthrown  and  the 
government  passed  to  a  provincial  congress. 

New  York  Sons  of  Liberty.— In  1767,  in  the  eighth  year 
of  the  reign  of  George  Hi.  there  was  issued  a  document  in 
straightforward  Saxon,  and  Sir  Henry  Moore,  Governor-in-Chief 
over  the  Province  of  New  York,  offered  fifty  pounds  to  discover 
the  author  or  authors.  The  paper  read  as  follows  :  '*  Whereas, 
a  glorious  stand  for  Liberty  did  appear  in  the  Resentment  shown 
to  a  Set  of  Miscreants  under  the  Name  of  Stamp  Masters,  in  the 
year  1765,  and  it  is  now  feared  that  a  set  of  Gentry  called  Com- 
missioners (I  do  not  mean  those  lately  arrived  at  Boston),  whose 
odious  Business  is  of  a  similar  nature,  may  soon  make  their  ap- 
pearance amongst  us  in  order  to  execute  their  detestable  office  : 
It  is  therefore  hoped  that  every  votary  of  that  celestial  Goddess 
Liberty,  will  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  give  them  a  proper 
welcome.  Rouse,  my  Countrymen,  Rouse  !  (Signed)  Pro  Patria.^^ 

In  December,  1769,  a  stirring  address  "  To  the  Betrayed  In- 
habitants of  the  City  and  County  of  New  York,"  signed  by  a  Son 
of  Liberty,  was  also  published,  asking  the  people  to  do  their  duty 
in  matters  pending  between  them  and  Britain.  "  Imitate,"  the 
writer  said,  "  the  noble  examples  of  the  friends  of  Liberty  in 
England  ;  who,  rather  than  be  enslaved,  contend  for  their  rights 
with  king,  lords  and  commons  :  and  will  you  suffer  your  liber- 


THE  HUDSON.  39 

ties  to  be  torn  from  you  by  your  Representatives  ?  tell  it  not  In 
Boston  ;  publish  it  not  in  the  streets  of  Charles-town.  You  have 
means  yet  left  to  preserve  a  unanimity  with  the  brave  Boston- 
ians  and  Carolinians  ;  and  to  prevent  the  accomplishment  of  the 
designs  of  tyrants." 

Another  proclamation,  offering  a  reward  of  fifty  pounds,  was 
published  by  the  ''  Honorable  Cadwalader  Colden.  Esquire,  His 
Majesty's  Lieutenant-Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Province  of  New  York  and  the  territories  depending  thereon  in 
America,-'  with  another  '*  God  Save  the  King  "  at  the  end  of  it. 
But  the  people  who  commenced  to  write  Liberty  with  a  capital 
letter  and  the  word  "king"  in  lower  case  type  were  not  daunted. 
Captain  Alexander  McDougal  was  arrested  as  the  supposed  au- 
thor. He  was  imprisoned  eighty-one  days.  He  was  subsequently 
a  member  of  the  Provincial  Convention,  in  1775  was  ap- 
pointed Colonel  of  the  first  New  York  Regiment,  and  in  1777  rose 
to  the  rank  of  Major-General  in  the  U.  S.  Army.  New  York  City 
could  well  afford  a  monument  to  the  Sons  of  Liberty.  She  has  a 
right  to  emphasize  this  period  of  her  history,  for  her  citizens  pass- 
ed the  first  resolution  to  import  nothing  from  the  mother  coun- 
try, burned  ten  boxes  of  stamps  sent  from  P^ngland  before  any 
other  colony  or  city  had  made  even  a  show  of  resistance,  and 
when  the  Declaration  was  read,  pulled  down  the  leaden  statue 
of  George  III.  from  its  pedestal  in  Bowling  Green,  and  moulded 
it  into  Republican  Bullets. 

In  1699  the  population  of  New  York  was  about  6,000.  In  1800, 
it  reached  60,000 ;  and  the  growth  since  that  date  is  almost  in- 
credible. It  is  amusing  to  hear  elderly  people  speak  of  the 
"  outskirts  of  the  city  "  lying  north  of  the  City  Hall,  and  of  the 


40  THE  HUDSON. 

drives  in  the  country  above  Canal  Street.  In  the  Documentary 
History  of  New  York,  a  map  of  a  section  of  New  York  appears 
as  it  was  in  1793,  when  the  Gail,  Work  House,  and  Bridewell  oc- 
cupied the  site  of  the  City  Hall,  with  two  ponds  to  the  north 

East  Collect  Pond  and  Little  Collect  Pond, — sixty  feet  deep  and 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  diameter,  the  outlet  of  which  crossed 
Broadway  at  Canal  Street  and  found  its  way  to  the  Hudson. 
(On  this  pond  John  Fitch  claims  to  have  launched  the  first  boat 
propelled  by  steam,  some  six  years  before  Fulton  made  trial  of 
his  boat  on  the  river  Seine  in  France,  and  ten  years  prior  to  his 
putting  into  operation  his  boat  Clermont  in  New  York.) 

Greater  New  York.— In  1830,  the  population  of  New  York 
was  202,000;  in  1850,  515,000;  in  1860,  805,000;  in  1870,  942,000; 
in  1880,  1,250,000:  in  1892,  1,801,739;  with  a  rapidly  increasing 
population  now  estimated  at  over  two  millions.  Brooklyn, 
which  in  1800  had  a  population  of  only  2,000,  now  contributes,  as 
the  "Borough  of  Brooklyn,"  more  than  one  million  to  the 
census  of  the  western  emporium.  So  that  Greater  New  York, 
with  the  towns  which  surround  it,  represents  to-day  a  popula- 
tion of  almost  four  millions  of  people,  with  something  more  than 
three  millions  under  one  municipality. 

Brooklyn. — In  June,  1636,  was  bought  the  first  land  on  Long 
Island  ;  and  in  1667  the  Ferry  Town,  opposite  New  York,  was 
known  by  the  name  "  Breuckelen,"  signifying  "broken  land," 
but  the  name  was  not  generally  accepted  until  after  the  Revo- 
lution. Columbia  Heights,  Prospect  Park,  Clinton  Avenue, 
St.  Mark's  Place,  Hancock  Street  and  Stuyvesant  Heights  are 
among  the  favored  sjwts  for  residence.  The  bright  city  across 
the  Bridge  has  a  happy  location  for  health  and  convenience 


THE  HUDSON.  41 

Jersey  City  occupies  the  ground  once  known  as  Paulus 
Hook,  the  farm  of  William  Kieft,  Director  General  of  the  Dutch 
West  India  Company.  It  is  now  a  city  of  about  200,000,  and  its 
water  front,  from  opposite  Bartholdi  Statue  to  Hoboken,  is  con- 
spicuously marked  by  Railroad  Terminal  Piers,  Factories,  Ele- 
vators, etc.  Berg-en  is  the  oldest  settlement  in  New  Jersey  It 
was  founded  in  1616  by  Dutch  Colonists  to  the  New  Netherlands, 
and  received  its  name  from  Berg-en  in  Norway.  Jersey  City  is 
practically  a  part  of  Greater  New  York,  but  state  lines  make 
municipal  union  impossible. 

Hudson  River  Steamboats.— An  accurate  history  of  the 
growth  and  development  of  steam  navigation  on  the  Hudson, 
from  the  building-  of  the  "Clermont*'  by  Robert  Fulton  to  the 
building  of  the  superb  steamers,  the  "  New  York  "  and  "Albany  " 
would  form  a  very  interesting  book.  The  first  seven  years  pro- 
duced seven  steamers,  to  wit : 

Clermont,  built  in  1807 160  tons 

North  River,  built  in  1808 166 

Car  of  Neptune,  built  in  1801) 295     " 

Hope,  built  in  1811 280     " 

Perseverance,  built  in  1811 280     " 

Paragon,  built  in  1811 331     " 

Richmond,  built  in  1813 370     " 

It  makes  one  smile  to  read  the  newspaper  notices  of  those 
days,  and  we  give  some  of  them  for  the  benefit  of  the  traveler. 
The  time  was  rather  long,  and  the  fare  rather  high — thirty-six 
hours  to  Albany,  fare  seven  dollars. 

From  the  Albany  Gazette,  dated  September,  1807. 
*'  The  North  River  Steamboat  will  leave  Paulus  Hook  Ferry 
(now  Jersey  City)  on  Friday  the  4th  of  September,  at  9  in  the 


42  THE  HTTDSON. 

morning,  and  arrive  at  Albany  at  9  in  the  afternoon  on  Saturday. 
Provisions,  good  berths,  and  accommodation  are  provided.  The 
charge  to  each  passenger  is  as  follows  : 

To  Newburg Dols.  3,        Time  14  hours. 

Poughkeepsie "    4,  "    17      " 

Esopus "    5,  "    20      " 

Hudson "     5i,  "    30      " 

Albany "     7,  "    36      " 

For  places  apply  to  Wm.  Vandervoort,  No.  48  Courtland 
street,  on  the  corner  of  Greenwich  street,  September  2d,  1807." 
Extract  from  the  New  York  Evening  Post,  dated  October  2d,  1807. 
Mr.  Fulton's  new-invented  steamboat,  which  is  fitted  up  in  a 
neat  style  for  passengers,  and  is  intended  to  run  from  New  York 
to  Albany  as  a  packet,  left  here  this  morning  with  ninety  pas- 
sengers, against  a  strong  head  wind.  Notwithstanding  which, 
it  is  judged  that  she  moved  through  the  waters  at  the  rate  of  six 
miles  an  hour. 

Extract  from  the  Albany  Gazette,  dated  October  5th,  1807. 
Friday,  October  2d,  1807,  the  steamboat  (Clermont)  left  New 
York  at  ten  o'clock  a.  m.,  against  a  stormy  tide,  very  rough 
water,  and  a  violent  gale  from  the  north.  She  made  a  headway 
beyond  the  most  sanguine  expectations,  and  without  being 
rocked  by  the  waves. 

Arrived  at  Albany,  October  4th,  at  10  o'clock  p.  m.,  being 
detained  by  being  obliged  to  come  to  anchor,  owing  to  a  gale 
and  having  one  of  her  paddle  wheels  torn  away  by  running  foul 
of  a  sloop. 

The  following  v  is  recently  recopied  in  the  Poughkeepsie 
Eajrle,  as  an  old  time  reminiscence : 


THE  HUDSON.  43 

To  Pouglikeepsie  from  New  York  in  Seventeen  Hours. 

— The  first  steamboat  on  the  Hudson  River  passed  Poughkeep- 
sie  August  ITth,  1807,  and  in  June,  1808,  the  owners  of  the  boat 
caused  the  following  advertisement  to  be  published  in  prominent 
papers  along  the  river  : 

STEAMBOAT. 

FOR  THE  INFORMATION  OF  THE  PUBLIC. 

The  Steamboat  will  leave  New  York  for  Albany  every  Satur- 
day afternoon  exactly  at  G  o'clock,  and  will  pass  : 

West  Point,  about  4  o'clock  Sunday  morning. 

Newburgh,  7  o'clock  Sunday  morning. 

Poughkeepsie,  11  o'clock  Sunday  morning. 

Esopus,  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

Red  Hook,  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

Catskill,  7  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

Hudson,  8  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

She  will  leave  Albany  for  New  York  every  Wednesday  morn- 
ing exactly  at  8  o'clock,  and  pass  : 

Hudson,  about  3  in  the  afternoon. 

Esopus,  8  in  the  evening. 

Poughkeepsie,  12  at  night. 

Newburgh,  4  Thursday  morning. 

West  Point,  7  Thursday  morning. 

As  the  time  at  which  the  boat  may  arrive  at  the  different 
places  above  mentioned  may  vary  an  hour,  more  or  less,  accord- 
ing to  the  advantage  or  disadvantage  of  wind  and  tide,  those 
who  wish  to  come  on  board  will  see  the  necessity  of  being  on 
the  spot  an  hour  before  the  time.  Persons  wishing  to  come  on 
board  from  any  other  landing  than   these   here   specified  caq 


44  THE  HtTDSON. 

calculate  the  time  the  boat  will  pass  and  be  ready  on  her  arrival. 
Innkeepers  or  boatmen  who  bring-  passengers  on  board  or  take 
them  ashore  from  any  part  of  the  river  will  be  allowed  one 
shilling-  for  each  person. 

PRICES  OF   PASSAGE— FROM  NEW  YORK. 

To  West  Point $2  30 

To  Newburgh 3  00 

To  Poughkeepsie 3  50 

To  Esopus 4  00 

To  Red  Hook 4  50 

To  Hudson 5  00 

To  Albany 7  00 

FROM  ALBANY. 

To  Hudson $2  00 

To  Red  Hook 3  00 

To  Esopus 3  50 

To  Poug-hkeepsie 4  00 

To  Newburg-h  and  West  Point 4  50 

To  New  York 7  00 

All  other  passengers  are  to  pay  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  for 
every  twenty  miles,  and  a  half  dollar  for  every  meal  they  may 
eat. 

Children  from  1  to  5  years  of  age  to  pay  one-third  price  and 
to  sleep  with  the  persons  under  whose  care  they  are. 

Young  persons  from  5  to  15  years  of  age  to  pay  half  price, 
provided  they  sleep  two  in  a  berth,  and  the  whole  price  for  each 
one  who  requests  to  occupy  a  whole  berth. 

Servants  who  pay  two-thirds  price  are  entitled  to  a  berth  ; 
they  pay  half  price  if  they  do  not  have  a  berth. 

Every  person  paying  full  price  is  allowed  sixty  pounds  of  bag- 
gage ;  if  less  than  full  price  forty  pounds.     They  are  to  pay  at 


THE  HUDSON.  45 

the  rate  of  three  cents  per  pound  for  surplus  bag-gage.  Store- 
keepers who  wish  to  carry  light  and  valuable  merchandise  can 
be  accommodated  on  paying  three  cents  a  pound." 

Steamers  "New  York"  and  "Albany."— As  the  cradle  of 
successful  steam  navigation  was  rocked  on  the  Hudson,  it  is  fit- 
ting that  the  Day  Line  Steamers,  the  "  New  York  "  and  "Albany  " 
should  excel  all  others  in  beauty,  grace  and  speed.  There  is  no 
comparison  between  these  river  palaces  and  the  steamboats  on 
the  Rhine  or  any  river  in  Europe,  as  to  equipment,  comfort  and 
rapidity.  To  make  another  reference  to  the  great  tourist  route 
of  Europe,  the  distance  from  Cologne  to  Coblenz  is  60  miles,  the 
same  as  from  New  York  to  Newburgh.  It  takes  the  Rhine 
steamers  from  seven  to  eight  hours  (as  will  be  seen  in  Baedek- 
er's Guide  to  that  river)  going  uj)  the  stream,  and  from  four  and 
a  half  to  five  hours  returning  with  the  current.  The  "New 
York  "or  the  "Albany*'  leaves  22d  Street  at  9  a.  m., reaching 
Newburgh  at  12.25,  covering  the  same  distance  in  three  hours 
and  twenty-five  minutes,  either  with  or  without  tide,  wind  or 
current.  Probably  no  train  on  the  best  equipped  railroad  in 
our  country  reaches  its  stations  with  greater  regularity  than 
these  boats  make  their  various  landings.  It  astonishes  a  Missis- 
sippi or  Missouri  traveler  to  see  the  captain  standing  like  a 
train-conductor,  with  watch  in  hand,  to  let  off  the  gang-plank 
and  pull  the  bell,  at  the  very  moment  of  the  advertised  schedule. 

One  of  the  most  humorous  incidents  of  the  writer's  journeying 
up  and  down  the  Hudson,  was  the  "  John-Gilpin-experience"  of 
a  western  man  who  got  off  at  West  Point  a  few  years  ago.  It 
was  at  that  time  the  first  landing  of  the  steamer  after  leaving 
New  York. 


46  THE  HUDSON. 

As  he  was  accustomed  to  the  Mississippi  style  of  waiting  at 
the  various  towns  he  thought  he  would  go  up  and  take  a  look  at 
the  "hill."  The  boat  was  off  and  " so  was  he  ; "  with  wife  and 
children  shaking  their  hands  and  handkerchiefs  in  an  excited 
manner  from  the  gang-plank.  Some  one  at  the  stern  of  the 
steamer  shouted  to  him  to  cross  the  river  and  take  the  train  to 
Poughkeepsie. 

Every  one  was  on  the  lookout  for  him  at  the  Poughkeepsie 
landing,  and,  just  as  the  steamer  was  leaving  the  dock,  he  came 
dashing  down  Main  street  from  the  railroad  station,  but  too  late. 
Then  not  only  wife  and  children  but  the  entire  boat  saluted  him 
and  the  crowded  deck  blossomed  with  handkerchiefs.  Some  one 
shouted  "catch  us  at  Rhinebeck."  After  leaving  Rhinebeck 
the  train  appeared,  and  on  passing  the  steamer,  a  lone  hand- 
kerchief waved  from  the  rear  of  the  platform.  At  Hudson  an 
excited  but  slightly  disorganized  gentleman  appeared  to  the 
great  delight  of  his  family,  and  every  one  else,  for  the  passengers 
had  all  taken  a  lively  interest  in  the  chase.  "Well,"  he  says, 
"I  declare,  the  way  this  boat  lands,  and  gets  off  again,  beats 
anything  I  ever  see,  and  I  have  lived  on  the  Mississippi  nigh  on 
to  a  quarter  of  a  century." 

Tlie  Steamer  "New  York."— This  steamer  is  the  fastest 
side-wheel  vessel  in  the  world,  and  the  following  facts,  furnished 
by  the  courtesy  of  the  Day  Line,  will  be  of  interest  to  the  tourist. 
The  hull  was  built  at  Wilmington, Del.,  by  the  Harlan  &  Hollings- 
worth  Co.,  in  1887,  and  is,  with  the  exception  of  the  deck-frame, 
made  of  iron  throughout.  During  the  winter  of  1897  she  was 
lengthened  30  feet,  and  now  measures  341  feet  in  length,  breadth 
over  all   74  feet,  with  grors  tonnage  of  1,974.85;  net  tonnage, 


THE  HUDSON.  49 

1 ,261.81.  The  engine  was  built  by  the  W.  &  A.  Fletcher  Co.,  of 
New  York.  It  is  a  standard  American  beam  engine,  with  a 
cylinder  75  inches  in  diameter  and  12  feet  stroke  of  piston,  and 
develops  3,850  horse  power.  Steam  stearing  gear  is  used.  One 
of  the  most  admirable  features  of  this  queen  of  river  steamers 
is  her  "feathering"'  wheels;  and  other  recent  improvements 
have  also  added  materially  to  her  speed  and  comfort.  The 
exterior  of  the  "New  York"  is  painted  white  and  relieved 
with  tints  and  gold.  The  interior  is  finished  in  hard-wood 
cabinet  work,  ash  being  used  forward  of  the  shaft  on  the  main 
deck,  and  mahogany  aft  and  in  the  dining-room  Ash  is  also 
used  in  the  grand  saloons  on  the  promenade  deck.  One  feature 
of  these  saloons  especially  worthy  of  note  is  the  number  and 
size  of  the  windows,  which  are  so  numerous  as  to  almost  form 
one  continuous  window.  The  Tiffany  Glass  and  Decorating  Co. 
made  the  artistic  glass  in  the  new  domes,  and  D.  S.  Hess  &  Co. 
designed  the  rich  furnishings.  The  private  parlors  on  the 
"New  York"  are  provided  with  bay  windows,  and  are  very 
luxuriantly  furnished.  In  the  saloons  are  paintings  by  Albert 
Bierstadt,  J.  F.  Cropsey,  Walter  Satterlee  and  David  Johnson. 
The  dining-room  on  the  "New  York"  is  located  on  the  main 
deck,  aft,  a  feature  that  will  commend  itself  to  tourists,  since 
while  enjoying  their  meals  they  will  not  be  deprived  from  view- 
ing the  noble  scenery  through  which  the  steamer  is  passing. 

Tlie  Steamer  "Albany."— The  "Albany  "  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  steamers  ever  constructed.  Her  graceful  lines 
and  great  deck  room  forward  are  very  noticeable,  and  she 
combines  all  the  known  improvements  that  go  toward  making 
travel  by  water  safe  and  attractive. 


50  THE  HUDSON. 

Her  hull  and  engines  were  built  by  the  same  companies  as 
those  of  the  steamer  "New  York,"  and,  during  the  ^winter  of 
1892,  she  also  was  lengthened  thirty  feet  and  furnished  with 
feathering  paddle  wheels.  Her  elegant  private  parlors,  beau- 
tiful dining-room,  hard-wood  trimming,  cheerful  deck  and 
capacious  saloons,  filled  with  rare  gems  of  art,  notably  Palmer's 
ideal  conception  of  June,  a  life-size  marble  bust  of  a  young  girl, 
at  the  head  of  the  great  staircase,  and  oil  paintings  on  the  walls 
by  Emile  Princhart  of  Paris,  F.  D.  Briscoe  of  Philadelphia,  and 
Yzquierdo  of  Madrid,  Spain,  with  rich  Axminster  carpets  and 
furnishings  of  antique  design,  make  her  the  worthy  peer  of  the 
"New  York."  They  are  in  fact  twin-steamers,  superbly 
equipped,  whose  officers  and  crews  emulate  each  other  in  duty 
and  effectiveness. 

Tlie  Old  Readies. — Early  navigators  divided  the  Hudson 
into  fourteen  "  reaches  "  or  distances  from  point  to  point  as  seen 
by  one  sailing  up  or  down  the  river.  In  the  slow  days  of  uncer- 
tain sailing  vessels  these  divisions  meant  more  than  in  our 
time  of  "propelling  steam,"  but  they  are  still  of  practical  and 
historic  interest. 

The  Great  Chip  Rock  Reach  extends  from  above  Weehawkcn 
about  eighteen  miles  to  the  boundary  lino  of  New  York  and  New 
Jersey — (near  Picrmont.)  The  Palisades  were  known  by  the  old 
Dutch  settlers  as  the  "  Great  Chip,"  and  so  styled  in  the  Bergen 
Deed  of  Purchase,  viz,  the  great  chip  above  Weehawken.  The 
Tappan  Reach,  on  the  east  side  of  which  dwelt  the  Manhattans, 
and  on  the  west  side  the  Saulrickans  and  the  Tappans,  extends 
about  seven  miles  to  Teller's  Point.  The  third  reach  to  a  nar- 
row point  called  Ilavcrstroo;  then  comes  the  Scylmalccfs  Reach, 


THE  HUDSON.  51 

then  Crescent  Reach ;  next  Hoge's  Reach,  and  then  Vorsen  Reach, 
which  extends  to  Klinkersberg-,  or  Storm  King,  the  north- 
ern portal  of  the  Highlands.  This  is  succeeded  by  Fishefs 
R^ach  where,  on  the  east  side  once  dwelt  a  race  of  savages 
called  Pachami.  "This  reach,"' in  the  language  of  De  Laet, 
"extends  to  another  narrow  pass,  where,  on  the  west,  is  a  point 
of  land  which  juts  out,  covered  with  sand,  opposite  a  bend  in  the 
river,  on  which  another  nation  of  savages — the  \Yaoranecks — 
have  their  abode  at  a  place  called  Esopus.  Next,  another  reach, 
called  Claverack;  then  Bockcrack;  next  Playsier  Reach,  and 
Vaste  Reach,  as  far  as  Hinnenhock  ;  then  Hunter's  Reach, 
as  far  as  Kinderhook  :  and  Fisher's  Hook,  near  Shad  Island, 
over  which,  on  the  east  side,  dwell  the  Mahicans.*'  If  these 
reaches  seem  valueless  at  present,  there  are 

Five  Divisions  of  ttie  Hudson— which  possess  interest 
for  all,  as  they  present  an  analysis  easy  to  be  remembered — 
divisions  marked  by  something  more  substantial  than  sentiment 
or  fancy,  expressing  five  distinct  characteristics  : — 

1.  The  Palisades,  an  unbroken  wall  of  rock  for  fifteen  miles 
—Grandeur. 

2.  The  Tappan  Zee,  surrounded  by  the  sloping  hills  of 
Nyack,  Tarrytown,  and  Sleepy  Hollow — Repose. 

3.  The  Highlands,  where  the  Hudson  for  twenty  miles  plays 
"hide  and  seek"  with  "hills  rock-ribbed  and  ancient  as  the 
sun"— Sublimity. 

4.  The  Hillsides  for  miles  above  and  below  Poughkeepsie— 
The  Picturesque. 

5.  The  Catskills,  on  the  west,  throned  in  queenly  dignity — 
Beauty. 


SUGGESTIONS. 


From  Hurricane  Deck  of  the  steamers  "  New  York  "  and 
"Albany"  can  be  seen,  on  leaving  or  approaching  the  great 
Metropolis,  one  of  the  most  interesting  panoramas  in  the  world 
— the  river  life  of  Manhattan,  the  high  buildings  of  Broadway, 
the  great  Transatlantic  docks,  Recreation  Pier,  Christopher 
Street,  and  an  ever-changing  kaleidoscope  of  interest.  The 
view  is  especially  grand  between  the  hours  of  five  and  six  in 
the  afternoon,  as  the  western  sun  brings  the  city  in  strong  re- 
lief against  the  sky.  If  tourists  wish  to  enjoy  this  beautiful 
view  they  should  stay  on  the  HuBricane  Deck  until  the  boat 
is  well  into  her  Desbrosses  Street  slip. 

The  Brooklyn  Annex.— The  Brooklyn  tourist  is  especially 
happy  in  this  delightful  preface  and  addenda  to  the  Hudson 
trip.  The  effect  of  morning  and  evening  light  in  bringing  out 
or  in  subduing  the  sky-line  of  Manhattan  is  nowhere  seen  to 
greater  advantage.  In  the  morning  light  the  buildings  from 
the  East  River  side  stand  out  bold  and  clear,  when  lo  !  almost 
instantaneously,  on  turning  the  Battery,  they  are  lessened 
and  subdued.  On  the  return  trip  in  the  evening,  the  effect  is 
suddenly  reversed — a  study  worth  the  while  of  the  traveler  as 
he  passes  to  and  fro  between  Desbrosses  Street  Pier  and  Brook- 
lyn. Surely  no  other  city  in  the  world  rises  so  beautiful  from 
harbor  line  or  water  front  as  "  Greater  New  York,"'  with  lofty 
outlines  of  the  boroughs  of  Manhattan  and  Brooklyn  reminding 
one  of  Scott's  tribute  to  Edinburgh  : 

*'  Whose  ridgy  back  heaves  tothe  sky, 

Piled  deep  and  massy,  close  and  high, 

Mine  own  romantic  town  I  " 


ct.,i 

,^  '^  fi 

J" 

\    l\'T 

NEW  YORK  TO  ALBANY, 


DESBROSSES  STREET  PIER  TO  TWENTY-SECOND  STREET. 

The  finely  equipped  steamers  "New  York''  and  "Albany," 
appropriately  named  from  the  terminal  cities  of  the  "Hudson 
by  Daylig-ht  Trip,"  leave  New  York  every  morning  (except  Sun- 
day) in  Summer,  (May  to  October)  from  Desbrosses  Street  Pier, 
at  8.40  a.  m,  and  22nd  Street  (N.  R.)  at  9  a.  m.,  reaching  Albany 
about  6  p.  m.  The  general  divisions,  in  accordance  with  steamer 
landings,  form  a  simple  and  complete  analysis  for  description  of 
scenery  and  historic  reference. 

Desbrosses  Street  Pier.— On  leaving  the  lower  landing  a 
charming  view  is  obtained  of  New  York  Harbor,  the  Narrows, 
Staten  Island,  the  Bartholdi  Statue  of  Liberty,  and,  in  clear 
weather,  far  away  to  the  South,  the  Highlands  of  Navisink,  the 
first  land  to  greet  the  eye  of  the  ocean  voyager.  As  the  Steamer 
swings  out  into  the  stream  the  tourist  is  at  once  face  to  face 
with  a  rapidly  changing  panorama.  Steamers  arriving,  with 
happy  faces  on  their  decks,  from  southern  ports  or  distant  lands ; 
others  with  waving  handkerchiefs  bidding  good-bye  to  friends 
on  crowded  docks ;  swift-shuttled  ferry-boats,  with  hurrying 
passengers,  supplying  their  homespun  woof  to  the  great  warp  of 
foreign  or  coastwise  commerce  ;  noisy  tug-boats,  sombre  as  dray 
horses,  drawing  long  lines  of  canal  boats,  or  proud  in  the  convoy 


54  THE  HUDSON. 

of  some  Atlantic  greyhound  that  has  no  yet  slipped  its  leash ; 
dignified  "Men  of  War"  at  anchor,  flying  the  flags  of  many 
nations,  happy  excursion  boats  en  route  to  sea-side  resorts,  scows, 
picturesque  in  their  very  clumsiness  and  uncouthness — all  unite 
in  a  living  kaleidescope  of  beauty. 

Across  the  river  on  the  Jersey  Shore  we  see  extensive  docks 
of  great  railways,  with  elevators  and  stations  that  seem  like 
''  knotted  ends  "  of  vast  railway  lines,  lest  they  might  forsooth, 
untwist  and  become  irrecoverably  tangled  in  approaching  the 
Metropolis.  Prominent  among  these  are  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road for  the  South  and  West ;  the  Erie  Railway,  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  and  Western,  and  to  the  North  above  Hoboken  the 
West  Shore,  serving  also  as  starting  point  for  the  New  York  On- 
tario and  Western.  Again  the  eye  returns  to  the  crowded 
Wharves  and  Warehouses  of  New  York,  reaching  from  Castle 
Garden  beyond  30th  Street,  with  forest-like  masts  and  funnels  of 
ocean  steamships,  and  then  to  prominent  buildings  mounting 
higher  and  higher  year  by  year  along  the  city  horizon,  marking 
the  course  of  Broadway  from  the  Battery.  Chief  among  these 
we  behold  the  New  York  Life  Insurance  Co.  with  Clock  Tower, 
the  square,  grey  stone  structure  of  the  Mutual  Reserve,  the  tall, 
narrow  structure  of  the  Shoe  and  Leather  Bank  Building,  the 
dome  of  the  World  Building,  the  tower  of  the  Tribune  and 
close  at  hand  the  Times  Building.  Beyond  this  the  American 
Tract  Building  and  the  Park  Row  Syndicate,  thirty  stories  in 
height,  the  highest  in  the  world,  overtopping  St.  Paul  Build- 
ing by  five  stories,  which  marks  the  old  site  of  the  New  York 
Herald.  Below  these  tower  the  Haverraeyer  Building,  the 
Bank  of  Commerce  and  the  Surety  Company  with  rim  of  gilt 


THE  HUDSON.  55 

near  the  top,  and  south  of  these  are  seen  the  Manhattan  Trust  of 
Wall  Street  marked  by  its  lofty  tower  with  columns,  the  Unity 
Trust  Building,  the  Empire  Building,  twenty-one  stories,  and 
the  Campanile  tower  of  the  Manhattan  Life,  literally  fulfilling 
the  humor  of  Knickerbocker  in  not  leaving  space  for  a  breath 
of  air  for  the  top  of  old  Trinity  Church  spire.  The  Exchange 
Court,  Aldrich  Court  Columbia  Building,  Standard  Oil  Build  - 
ing.  Bowling  Green,  the  Washington  and  the  Produce  Ex- 
change complete  the  great  walled  highway  of  Commerce — 
Broadway,  the  most  majestic  street  in 'the  world. 

Ttie  22d  Street  Pier  is  now  at  hand,  convenient  of  access  to 
up-town  dwellers,  as  the  23d  Street  car  line  crosses  the  island  in- 
tersecting every  "  up  and  down  "  surface  or  elevated  road  in  the 
City,  as  does  also  the  Grand,  Vestry  and  Desbrosses  Street  at  the 
lower  landing.  While  the  passengers  are  coming  aboard  we 
take  pleasure  in  quoting  the  following  from  Baedeker's  Guide 
to  the  United  States:  "The  Photo-Panorama  of  the  Hudson, 
published  by  the  Bryant  Union,  72-4  Temple  Court,  New  York, 
(price  $1.00)  shows  both  sides  of  the  River  from  New  York  to  Al- 
bany, accurately  represented  from  800  consecutive  photographs.'' 
This  new  and  complete  object-guide  will  be  of  service  to  the 
tourist,  and  can  be  found  at  the  steamers'  news  stands,  head  of 
grand  stairway  of  the  "  New  York ''  and  the  "Albany,"  or  it  will 
be  sent  by  publishers,  postpaid,  on  receipt  of  price. 


56  THE  HUDSON. 


TWENTY-SECOND  STREET  TO  YONKERS. 

The  gang-plank  is  "drawn"  and  the  busy  wharves  and  noisy 
streets  are  now  behind  us,  pleasantly  exchanged  for  views  of  lofty 
Palisades  and  tranquil  shores. 

Just  before  touching  at  22d  Street  Pier  we  passed  on  the  Jersey 
Shore  a  wooded  point  with  sightly  building,  known  as  Stevens' 
Castle,  home  of  the  late  Commodore  Stevens,  founder  of  the 
Stevens'  Institute  of  Technology.  It  will  be  remembered  that  he 
patriotically  constructed  at  his  own  expense  during  the  Civil 
War,  the  Stevens'  Battery  for  the  defense  of  the  harbor,  which 
was,  however,  never  used.  Above  this  point  are  the  Elysian 
Fields,  north  of  Hoboken,  known  in  early  days  as  a  quiet  and 
pleasant  resort  but  now  greatly  changed  in  the  character  of  its 
visitors.  On  the  left  will  also  be  seen  the  dome  and  tower  of  St. 
Michael's  Monastery,  then  Union  Hill,  and  above  this 

W&aliawken  with  its  sa^  story  of  the  duel  between  Hamilton 
and  Burr.  A  monument  once  marked  the  spot  erected  by  the  St. 
Andrews  Society  of  New  York  on  the  narrow  ledge  of  rock 
where  Hamilton  fell  early  in  the  morning  of  July  11th,  1804,  but 
it  was  almost  chii)ped  away  by  relic  hunters,  until  at  last  it  was 
entirely  removed  i)revious  to  the  completion  and  opening  of  the 
West  Shore  Railroad  in  1883.  The  quarrel  between  this  great 
Statesman  and  his  malignant  rival  was,  perhaps,  more  personal 
than  political.  It  is  said  that  Hamilton,  in  accordance  with  our 
old-time  code  of  honor,  accepted  the  challenge,  but  fired  into  the 
air,  while  Burr  with  fiendish  cruelty  took  deliberate  revenge. 
Burr  WHS  never  forgiven  by  the  citizens  of  New  York  and  from 


THE  HUDSON.  67 

that  hour  walked  its  streets  shunned  and  despised.  Among  the 
many  poetic  tributes  penned  at  the  time  to  the  memory  of  Ham- 
ilton, perhaps  the  best  was  by  a  poet  whose  name  is  now  scarcely 
remembered,  Mr.  Robert  C.  Sands.  A  fine  picture  of  Hamilton 
will  be  found  in  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce  where  the 
writer  was  recently  shown  the  following  concise  paragraph  from 
Talleyrand  :  '*  The  three  greatest  men  of  my  time,  in  my  opinion, 
were  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  Charles  James  Fox  and  Alexander 
Hamilton  and  the  greatest  of  the  three  was  Hamilton," 

The  plain  marble  slab  which  stood  in  the  face  of  the  monu- 
ment is  still  preserved  by  a  member  of  the  King  family.  It  is 
thirty-six  inches  long  by  twenty-six  and  a  half  inches  wide  and 
bears  the  following  inscription:  ''As  an  expression  of  their  af- 
fectionate regard  to  his  Memory  and  their  deep  regret  for  his 
loss,  the  St.  Andrew's  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  have 
erected  this  Monument." 

Quite  a  history  attaches  to  this  stone  (graphically  condensed 
by  an  old  gardener  of  the  King  estate):  "  It  stood  in  the  face  of 
the  monument  for  sixteen  years,  and  w^as  read  by  thousands,  but 
by  1820  the  pillar  had  become  an  eyesore  to  the  enlightened 
public  sentiment  of  the  age,  and  an  agitation  was  begun  in  the 
public  prints  for  its  removal.  It  was  not,  however,  organized 
effort,  but  the  order  of  one  man,  that  at  length  demolished  the 
pillar.  This  man  was  Captain  Deas,  a  peace-loving  gentleman, 
strongly  opposed  to  duelling  and  brawls,  and  on  seeing  a  party 
approaching  the  grounds  often  interposed  and  sometimes  suc- 
ceeded in  effecting  a  reconciliation.  He  became  tired  of  seeing 
the  pillar  in  his  daily  walks,  and,  in  1820,  ordered  his  men  to  re- 
move it  and  deposit  the  slab  containing  the  inscription  in  one  of 


58 


THE  HUDSON. 


the  outbuildings  of  the  estate.  This  was  done.  But  a  few 
months  afterward  the  slab  was  stolen,  and  nothing  more  was 
heard  of  it  until  thirteen  years  later,  when  Mr.  Hu^h  Maxwell, 
President  of  the  St.  Andrew's  Society,  discovered  it  in  a  junk 
shop  in  New  York.  He  at  once  purchased  it  and  presented 
it  to  Mr.  James  G.  King,  who  about  this  time  came  into  posses- 
sion of  the  Deas  property,  where  it  has  since  been  carefully 
preserved." 

The  gardener  also  said  :  "  the  river  road  beneath  us  is  cut  di- 
rectly through  the  spot.  Originally  it  was  simply  a  narrow  and 
grassy  shelf  close  up  under  the  cliffs,  six  feet  wide  and  eleven 
paces  long.  A  great  cedar  tree  stood  at  one  end,  and  this  sand- 
bowlder,  which  we  have  also  preserved,  was  at  the  other.  It  was 
about  twenty  feet  above  the  river  and  was  "reached  by  a  steep 
rocky  path  leading  up  from  the  Hudson,  and,  as  there  was  then 
no  road  or  path  even  along  the  base  of  the  cliffs,  it  could  be 
reached  only  by  boats."  The  first  duel  at  Weehawken  of  which 
there  is  any  record  was  in  1799,  between  Aaron  Burr  and  John 
B.  Church  (Hamilton's  brother-in-law).  The  parties  met  and 
exchanged  shots ;  neither  was  wounded.  The  seconds  then  in- 
duced Church  to  offer  an  apology  and  the  affair  terminated. 
The  last  duel  was  fought  there  September  28th,  1845,  and  ended 
in  a  farce,  the  pistols  being  loaded  with  cork — a  fitting  termina- 
tion to  a  relic  of  barbarism. 

A  few  years  ago  a  summer  garden,  known  as  El  Dorado, 
crowned  the  hillside  above  Weehawken.  The  iron  structure, 
which  carried  two  elevators,  is  still  standing.  Beyond  this  are 
the  Union  Hill  Water  Works  which  supply  Hoboken  and  Union 
Hill  with  water  from  the  Hackensack,  the  source  of  which  will 


THE  HUDSON.  59 

be  seen  by  the  tourist  up  the  Hudson  in  a  depression  of  the  hills 
opposite  Sing  Sing-.  Passing  the  docks  of  the  Manhattan  Oil 
Company  and  the  West  Shore  Railroad  the  old-time  traveler 
will  miss  a  white,  prominent  building,  for  many  years  a  striking 
landmark  known  as  the  Guttenburg  Brewery,  destroyed  by  fire 
in  1897.  Turning  to  the  east  bank  the  tourist  w^ill  see  the 
Roosevelt  Hospital,  a  brick  structure  with  high  pointed  spire, 
St.  Luke's  Hospital  in  the  distance,  and,  near  the  river  bank, 

Columbia  Collegre,  with  beautiful  dome,  crowning  a  noble 
site  worthy  of  the  old  college,  whose  sons  have  been  to  the 
front  since  the  days  of  the  Revolution  in  promoting  the  glory 
of  the  state  and  the  nation.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
Central  Park  reaches  from  59th  Street  to  110th  Street,  about 
five  blocks  east  of  the  Hudson.  Between  this  and  the  River, 
reaching  from  71st  to  127th  Street  is  the  beautiful 

Riverside  Park  and  Drive,  following  for  the  most  part  the 
top  of  the  bluff.  Near  the  northern  end  of  the  Drive,  on  its  most 
commanding  point,  was  buried  August  8th,  1885,  General  Ulysses 
S.  Grant,  and  a  massive  memorial  monument  was  dedicated  in 
May,  1897,  worthy  of  the  great  soldier.  An  attempt  to  move 
his  body  to  Washington  was  nl^de  several  years  ago  in  Congress 
but  overwhelmingly  defeated.  -The  speech  made  by  Congress- 
man Amos  Cummings  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  was  a 
happy  condensation  of  the  facts.  He  fittingly  said :  "  New 
York  was  General  Grant's  chosen  home.  He  tried  many  other 
places  but  finally  settled  there.  A  house  was  given  to  him 
here  in  Washington,  but  he  abandoned  it  in  the  most  marked 
manner  to  buy  one  for  himself  in  New  York.  He  was  a 
familiar   form  upon   her  streets.     He  presided  at  her  public 


60  THE  HUDSON. 

meetings  and  at  all  times  took  an  active  interest  in  her  local  af- 
fairs. He  was  perfectly  at  home  there  and  was  charmed  with  its 
associations.  It  was  the  spot  on  earth  chosen  by  himself  as  the 
most  agreeable  to  him  ;  he  meant  to  live  and  die  there.  It  was 
'his  home  when  he  died.  He  closed  his  career  without  ever  once 
expressing-  a  wish  to  leave  it,  but  always  to  remain  in  it. 

Men  are  usually  buried  at  their  homes.  Washington  was 
buried  there  ;  Lincoln  was  buried  there  ;  Garibaldi  was  buried 
there ;  Gambetta  was  buried  there,  and  Ericsson  was  buried,  not 
at  the  Capital  of  Sweden,  but  at  his  own  home.  Those  who  say 
that  New  York  is  backward  in  giving  for  any  commendable 
thing  either  do  not  know  her  or  they  belie  her.  Wherever  in 
the  civilized  world  there  has  been  disaster  by  fire  or  flood,  or 
from  earthquake  or  pestilence,  she  has  been  among  the  foremost 
in  the  field  of  givers  and  has  remained  there  when  others  have 
departed.  It  is  a  shame  to  speak  of  her  as  parsimonious  or  as 
failing  in  any  benevolent  duty.  Those  who  charge  her  with 
being  dilatory  should  remember  that  haste  is  not  ahv  ys  speed. 
It  took  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  to  erect  Bunker  Hill 
Monument ;  the  ladies  of  Boston  completed  it.  It  took  nearly 
half  a  century  to  erect  a  monument  to  George  Washington  in  the 
City  founded  by  him,  named  for  him,  and  by  his  act  made  the 
Capital  of  the  Nation ;  the  Government  completed  it.  New 
York  has  already  shown  that  she  will  do  far  better  than  this.' 

The  Thirteen  Elm  Trees,  about  ten  or  fifteen  minutes'  walk 
from  General  Grant's  Tomb,  were  planted  by  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton in  his  door-yard,  a  century  ago,  to  commemorate  the  thir- 
teen original  States.  This  property  was  recently  purchased  by 
the  late  Hon.  Orlando  Potter,  of  New  York,  with  the  following 


THE  HUDSON.  <)'6 

touch  of  patriotic  sentiment  :  "  These  famous  trees  are  located 
in  the  northeast  corner  of  One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  street 
and  Convent  Avenue  ;  or,  on  lots  fourteen  and  fifteen,*'  said  the 
auctioneer  to  the  crowd  that  gathered  at  the  sale.  "In  order 
that  the  old  property  with  the  trees  may  be  kept  unbroken, 
should  the  purchaser  desire,  we  will  sell  lots  8  to  21  inclusive  in 
one  batch:  How  much  am  I  offered"?''  ''One  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars,"  quietly  responded  Mr.  Potter.  A  ripple  of  excite- 
ment ran  through  the  crowd,  and  the  bid  was  quickly  run  up  to 
$120,000  by  speculators.  '"One  hundred  i^nd  twenty-five  thou- 
sand," said  Mr.  Potter.  Then  there  were  several  thousand  dol- 
lar bids,  and  the  auctioneer  said  :  '•  Do  I  hear  one  hundred  and 
thirty  ?  "  Mr.  Potter  nodded.  He  nodded  again  at  the  "  thirty- 
five"  and  "forty"  and  then  some  one  raised  him  $250.  "  Five 
hundred,"  remarked  Mr.  Potter,  and  the  bidding  was  done. 
"Sold  for  $140,500  I "  cried  the  auctioneer.  Mr.  Potter  smiled 
and  drew  his  check  for  the  amount.  "  I  can't  say  what  I  will  do 
with  the  property,"  said  Mr.  Potter,  afterwards.  "  You  can  rest 
assured,  however,  that  the  trees  will  not  be  cut  down." 

On  the  west  bank  a  little  below  General  Grant's  tomb  is  the 
pleasant  village  of  Sunnyside  ;  above  this,  quiet  Edgewater,  and 
half  a  mile  to  the  north  of  Edgewater,  Pleasant  Valley,  formerly 
known  among  river  pilots  as"Tillie  Tudlem."  These  little  vil- 
lages, affording  pleasant  rambles  among  grassy  fields  and  hill- 
sides, are  of  easy  access  by  steamer  several  times  a  day  from 
Canal  or  22nd  Street. 

Mantiattanville, north  of  Claremont  Heights,  opposite  Edge- 
water,  is  now  being  rapidly  absorbed  in  the  great  City.  Passing 
the  Convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart  and  ?  little  Moorish  building 


64  THE  HUDSON. 

on  the  point  known  as  the  Ottendorf  Pavilion,  we  see  the 
burial  yard  of  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  with  monuments  and 
headstones  almost  lost  in  foliag^e  along-  its  wooded  hillsides. 
Here  also  lies  buried  a  straightforward  patriot  and  an  honest 
Statesman, 

General  Jolin  A.  Dix,  whose  words  rang  across  the  land 
sixty  days  before  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter:  "  If  any  man  at- 
tempts to  pull  down  the  American  flag  shoot  him  on  the  spot." 
The  John  A.  Dix  Post,  of  New  York,  comes  hither  each  Decora- 
tion Day  and  garlands  with  imposing  ceremonies  his  grave  and 
the  graves  of  their  comrades. 

Near  Carmansville  was  the  home  of  Audubon,  the  Ornitholo- 
gist, and  the  residences  above  the  Cemetery  are  grouped  together 
as  Audubon  Park.  Near  at  hand  is  the  New  York  Institute  for 
the  Deaf  and  Dumb,  and  pleasantly  located  near  the  Shore  the 
River  House  once  known  as  West-End  Hotel. 

Wasliin^ton  Heiglits  rise  in  a  bold  bluff  above  Jeffrey's 
Hook.  After  the  withdrawal  of  the  American  army  from  Long 
Island,  it  became  apparent  to  General  Washington  and  Alexan- 
der Hamilton  that  New  York  would  have  to  bo  abandoned. 

A  letter  from  the  commander-in-chief  to  General  Greene, 
written  November  8th,  suggested  his  abandoning  the  Heights, 
as  the  Chevaux-de-frise,  made  by  sinking  old  sloops  and  scows 
across  the  river,  had  been  broken  by  a  British  frigate  and  two 
transports,  thus  opening  the  entire  country  to  the  north  along 
the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  but  Greene  adhered  to  the  policy  of 
maintaining  the  Fort  which  was  also  the  expression  of  Congress. 
Future  developments  showed  that  Washing-ton  was  right.  The 
American  troops, so  far  as  clothing  or  equipment  was  concerned, 


THE  HUDSON.  65 

were  in  a  pitiable  condition,  and  the  result  of  the  struggle 
makes  one  of  the  darkest  pages  of  the  war.  On  the  12th  of 
November  Washington  started  from  Stony  Point  for  Fort  Lee 
and  arrived  the  13th,  finding  to  his  disappointment  that  General 
Greene,  instead  of  having  made  arrangements  for  evacuating, 
was,  on  the  contrary,  reinforcing  Fort  Washington.  The  entire 
defense  numbered  only  about  2000  men,  mostly  militia,  with 
hardly  a  coat,  to  quote  an  English  writer,  "  that  was  not  out  at 
the  elbows."  "On  the  night  of  the  14th  thirty  flat-bottomed 
boats  stole  quietly  up  the  Hudson,  passed  the  American  forts 
undiscovered,  and  made  their  way  through  Spuyten  Duyvi' 
Creek  into  Harlem  River.  The  means  were  thus  provided  for 
crossing  that  river,  and  landing  before  unprotected  parts  of  the 
American  works." 

According  to  Irving,  "  On  the  loth  General  Howe  sent  a  sum- 
mons to  surrender,  with  a  threat  of  extremities  should  he  have 
to  carry  the  place  by  assault."  Magaw,  in  his  reply,  intimated  a 
doubt  that  General  Howe  would  execute  a  threat  "  so  unworthy 
of  himself  and  the  British  nation ;  but  give  me  leave,"  added 
he,  "to  assure  his  Excellency,  that,  actuated  by  the  most  glo- 
rious cause  that  mankind  ever  fought  in,  I  am  determined  to 
defend  this  post  to  the  very  last  extremity." 

"  Apprised  by  the  colonel  of  his  peril.  General  Greene  sent 
over  reinforcements,  with  an  exhortation  to  him  to  persist  in  his 
defense ;  and  dispatched  an  express  to  General  Washington, 
who  was  at  Hackensack,  where  the  troops  from  Peekskill  were 
encamped.  It  was  nightfall  when  Washington  arrived  at  Fort 
Lee.  Greene  and  Putnam  were  over  at  the  besieged  fortress. 
He  threw  himself  into  a  boat,  and  had  partly  crossed  the  river, 


66  THE  HUDSON. 

when  he  met  those  Generals  returning.  They  informed  him  of 
the  garrison  having  been  reinforced,  and  assured  him  that  it 
was  in  high  spirits,  and  capable  of  making  a  good  defense.  It 
was  with  difficulty,  however,  they  could  prevail  on  him  to  return 
with  them  to  the  Jersey  shore,  for  he  was  excessively  excited." 

"Early  the  next  morning,  Magaw  made  his  dispositions  for 
the  expected  attack.  His  forces,  with  the  recent  addition, 
amounted  to  nearly  three  thousand  men.  As  the  fort  could  not 
contain  above  a  third  of  its  defenders,  most  of  them  were  sta- 
tioned about  the  outworks." 

About  noon,  a  heavy  cannonade  thundered  along  the  rocky 
hills,  and  sharp  volleys  of  musketry,  proclaimed  that  the  action 
was  commenced. 

"Washington,  surrounded  by  several  of  his  officers,  had  been 
an  anxious  spectator  of  the  battle  from  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Hudson.  Much  of  it  was  hidden  from  him  by  intervening  hills 
and  forest ;  but  the  roar  of  cannonry  from  the  valley  of  the  Har- 
lem River,  the  sharp  and  incessant  reports  of  rifles,  and  the 
smoke  rising  above  the  tree-tops,  told  him  of  the  spirit  with 
which  the  assault  was  received  at  various  points,  and  gave  him 
for  a  time  hope  that  the  defense  might  be  successful.  The  action 
about  the  lines  to  the  south  lay  open  to  him,  and  could  be  dis- 
tinctly seen  through  a  telescope  ;  and  nothing  encouraged  him 
more  than  the  gallant  style  in  which  Cadwalader  with  inferior 
force  maintained  his  position.  When  he  saw  him  however,  as- 
sailed in  flank,  the  lino  broken,  and  his  troops,  overpowered  by 
numbers,  retreating  to  the  fort,  he  gave  up  the  game  as  lost. 
The  worst  sight  of  all,  was  to  behold  his  men  cut  down  and  bayo- 
neted by  the  Hessians  while  begging  quarter.     It  is  said  so  com- 


THE  HUDSON.  ^* 

pletely  to  have  overcome  him,  that  he  wept  with  the.  tenderness 
of  a  child.'' 

"  Seeing-  the  flag  go  into  the  fort  from  Knyphausen"s  division, 
and  surmising  it  to  be  a  summons  to  surrender,  he  wrote  a  note 
to  Magaw,  telling  him  if  he  could  hold  out  until  evening  and  the 
place  could  not  be  maintained,  he  would  endeavor  to  bring  off 
the  garrison  in  the  night.  Capt.  Gooch,  of  Boston,  a  brave  and 
daring  man,  offered  to  be  the  bearer  of  the  note.  He  ran  down 
to  the  river,  jumped  into  a  small  boat,  pushed  over  the  river, 
landed  under  the  bank,  ran  up  to  the  fort  and  delivered  the  mes- 
sage, came  out,  ran  and  jumped  over  the  broken  ground,  dodg- 
ing the  Hessians,  some  of  whom  struck  at  him  with  their  pieces 
and  others  attempted  to  thrust  him  with  their  bayonets  ;  escap- 
ing through  them,  he  got  to  his  boat  and  returned  to  Fort  Lee, ' 

Washington's  message  arrived  too  late.  "The  fort  was  so 
crowded  by  the  garrison  and  the  troops  which  had  retreated  in- 
to it,  that  it  was  difficult  to  move  about.  The  enemy,  too,  were 
in  possession  of  the  little  redoubts  around,  and  could  have  poured 
in  showers  of  shells  and  ricochet  balls  that  would  have  made 
dreadful  slaughter."  It  was  no  longer  possible  for  Magaw  to  get 
his  troops  to  man  the  lines  ;  he  was  compelled,  therefore,  to 
yield  himself  and  his  garrison  prisoners  of  war.  The  only  terms 
granted  them  were,  that  the  men  should  retain  their  baggage 
and  the  officers  their  swords. 

Other  defenses  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Washington  were  Fort 
Tryon,  a  redoubt  to  the  north  on  the  same  heights,  Fort  George 
to  the  south  overlooking  Harlem  River  and  "a  water-battery  at 
Jeffrey  Hook."  All,  however,  too  poorly  manned  to  hold  out 
against  the  well  equipped  British  force  under  General  Howe. 


68  THE  HUDSON. 

Fort  Lee.— A  beautiful  and  commanding-  site  on  the  west 
side  opposite  Port  Washington.  The  picturesque  Landing, 
Driveway,  and  Hotel,  mark  the  spot  as  one  of  the  pleasantest  re- 
sorts on  the  Jersey  Shore  of  the  Hudson.  The  old  fort  had  a 
commanding  position,  but  entirely  useless  to  the  Revolutionary 
Army  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Washington.  It  was  therefore  im- 
mediately abandoned  to  the  British,  as  was  also  Fort  Constitu- 
tion, another  redoubt  near  at  hand. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  American  Army  after  long 
continued  disaster  in  and  about  New  York,  retreated  southward 
from  Fort  Lee  and  Hackensack  to  the  Delaware,  where  Wash- 
ington with  a  strategic  stroke  brought  dismay  on  his  enemies 
and  restored  confidence  to  his  friends  and  the  Patriots'  Cause. 

Tlie  Palisades,  or  Great  CMp  Rock,  as  they  were  known 
by  the  old  Dutch  settlers,  present  the  same  bold  front  to  the 
river  that  the  Giant's  Causeway  does  to  the  ocean.  Their 
height  at  Fort  Lee,  where  the  bold  cliffs  first  assert  themselves, 
is  three  hundred  feet,  and  they  extend  about  seventeen  or 
eighteen  miles  to  the  hills  of  Rockland  County.  A  stroll  along 
the  summit  reveals  the  fact  that  they  are  almost  as  broken  and 
fantastic  in  form  as  the  great  rocks  along  the  Elbe  in  Saxon- 
Switzerland. 

As  the  basaltic  trap-rock  is  one  of  the  oldest  geological  forma- 
tions, we  might  still  appropriately  style  the  Palisades  "  a  chip 
of  the  old  block."  They  separate  the  valley  of  the  Hudson  from 
the  valley  of  the  Hackensack.  The  Hackensack  rises  in  Rock- 
land Lake  opposite  Sing  Sing,  within  two  or  three  hundred 
yards  of  the  Hudson,  and  the  rivers  flow  thirty  miles  side  by 
side.    Geologists  say  that  originally  they   w^re   one  river,   but 


THE  HUDSON.  71 

they  are  now  separated  from  each  other  by  a  wall  more  sub- 
stantial than  even  the  2,000  mile  structure  of  the  '"  Heathen 
Chinee." 

It  is  said  that  this  basaltic  formation  was  thrown  up  ages  ago 
between  a  rift  in  the  earth's  surface,  where  it  cooled  in  columnar 
form,  and  that  the  rocky  mould  which  held  it,  being  of  soft 
material,  finally  disintegrated  and  crumbled  away,  leaving-  the 
cliff  with  its  peculiar  perpendicular  formation. 

A  recent  writer  has  said:  "The  Palisades  are  among  the 
wonders  of  the  world.  Only  three  other  places  equal  them  in 
importance,  but  each  of  the  four  is  different  from  the  others, 
and  the  Palisades  are  unique.  The  Giant's  Causeway  on  the 
north  coast  of  Ireland,  and  the  cliffs  at  Kawaddy  in  India,  are 
thought  by  many  to  have  been  the  result  of  the  same  upheaval 
of  nature  as  the  Palisades  ;  but  the  Hudson  rocks  seem  to  have 
preserved  their  entirety — to  have  come  up  in  a  body,  as  it  were 
—while  the  Giant's  Causeway  owes  its  celebrity  to  the  ruined 
state  in  which  the  Titanic  forces  of  nature  have  left  it.  The 
third  wonder  is  at  Staffa,  in  Scotland,  where  the  rocks  have 
been  thrown  into  such  a  position  as  to  justify  the  name  of  Fin- 
gal's  Cave,  which  they  bear,  and  which  was  bestowed  on  them 
in  the  olden  times  before  Scottish  history  began  to  be  written. 
It  is  singular  how  many  of  the  names  which  dignify,  or  designate, 
favorite  spots  of  the  Giant's  Causeway  have  been  duplicated  in 
the  Palisades.  Among  the  Hudson  rocks  are  several  '  Lady's 
Chairs,'  'Lover's  Leaps,'  'Devil's  Toothpicks,'  'Devil's  Pulpits,' 
and,  in  many  spots  on  the  water's  edge,  especially  those  most 
openly  exposed  to  the  weather,  we  see  exactly  the  same  conform- 
ations which  excite  admiration  and  wonder  in  the  Irish  rocks." 


72  THE  HUDSON. 

Under  the  base  of  these  cliffs  William  Cullen  Bryant  one  Sab- 
bath mornino-  sketched  "A  Scene  on  the  Banks  of  the  Hudson." 

"  Cool  shades  and  dews  are  round  my  way, 
And  silence  of  the  early  day  ; 
Mid  the  dark  rocks  that  watch  his  bod, 
Glitters  the  mighty  Hudson  spread, 
Unrippled,  save  by  drops  that  fall 
From  shrubs  that  fringe  his  mountain  wall ; 
And  o'er  the  clear,  still  water  swells 
The  music  of  the  Sabbath  bells. 

All,  save  this  little  nook  of  land. 
Circled  with  trees,  on  which  I  stand  ; 
All,  save  that  line  of  hills  which  lie 
Suspended  in  the  mimic  sky- 
Seems  a  blue  void,  above,  below. 
Through  which  the  white  clouds  come  and  go  ; 
And  from  the  green  world's  farthest  steep 
I  gaze  into  the  airy  deep.  ' 

There  are  strange  stories  also  connected  with  the  Palisades 
and,  as  the  writer  continues,  "  many  remarkable  disappearances 
have  occurred  in  the  same  vicinity  that  have  never  been  ex- 
plained. On  a  conical-shaped  rock  near  (Jlinton  Point  a  young- 
man  and  a  young  woman  were  seen  standing  some  half  a  century 
ago.  Several  of  their  friends,  who  were  back  some  thirty  feet 
from  the  face  of  the  cliff,  saw  them  distinctly,  and  called  out  to 
them  not  to  approach  too  near  the  edge.  The  young  couple 
laughingly  sent  some  answer  back,  and  a  moment  later  vanished 
as  by  magic.  Their  friends  rushed  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff  but 
saw  no  trace  of  them.  They  noticed  at  once  that  the  tide  was 
out,  and  at  the  base  three  oi*  fouj*  ])oatnien  were  sauntering- 


THE  HUDSON.  73 

about  as  thouo-h  nothing  had  happened.  A  dilig-ent  search  was 
instituted,  but  the  young-  couple  were  not  found  on  the  rocks, 
and  they  could  not  have  fallen  into  the  river.  Friends  and  boat- 
men joined  in  the  search,  but  from  that  day  to  this  they  have 
never  been  heard  from,  no  trace  of  them  has  been  found,  and 
the  mystery  of  their  disappearance  is  as  complete  now  as  it  was 
five  minutes  after  they  vanished.  A  more  tragical  termination 
than  the  story  of  the  old  Pilot  on  a  Lake  George  steamer,  who, 
surrounded  one  morning  by  a  group  of  tourist-questioners, 
pointed  to  Roger  Slide  Mountain,  an:l  said  :  "a  couple  went  up 
there  and  never  came  back  again."  "What  do  you  suppose, 
Captain,"  said  a  fair-haired,  anxious  listener,  "ever  became  of 
them?"  "Can't  tell,"  said  the  Captain,  "some  folks  said  they 
went  down  on  the  other  side." 

The  old  Palisade  Mountain  House,  a  few  miles  above  Fort  Lee, 
had  a  commanding  location,  but  was  burned  in  1884  and  never 
rebuilt.  Pleasant  villas  are,  however,  springing  up  along  this 
rocky  balcony  of  the  lower  Hudson,,  and  probably  the  entire  dis- 
tance will  some  day  abound  in  castles  and  luxuriant  homes.  It 
is  in  fact  within  the  limit  of  possibility  that  this  may  in  the 
future  present  the  finest  residential  street  in  the  world,  with  a 
natural  macadamized  boulevard  midway  between  the  Hudson 
and  the  sky. 

It  sometimes  grieves  one  to  see  the  gray  rocks  torn  away  for 
building  material,  but,  as  fast  as  man  destroys,  nature  kindly 
heals  the  wound ;  or  to  keep  the  Palisade  figure  more  complete, 
she  recaptures  the  scarred  and  broken  battlements,  unfolding 
along  the  steep  escarpment  her  waving  standards  of  green.  It 
sometimes  seems  as  if  one  can  almost  see  her  selecting  the  easi- 


74  THE  HUDSON. 

est  point  of  attack,  marshalling-  her  forces,  running-  her  parallels 
with  Boadacea-like  skill,  and  carrying-  her  streaming  banners, 
more  real  than  Macduff's  "  Burnham-Wood  "  to  crowning  ram- 
part and  lofty  parapet. 

The  New  York  side  from  the  Battery  to  the  northern  end  of 
Manhattan  Island  is  already  ''  well  peopled."  Until  recently  the 
land  about  Fort  Washington  has  been  held  in  considerable 
tracts  and  the  very  names  of  these  surburban  points  sug-g'est  al- 
titude and  outlook — Hig'hbridgeville,  Fordham  Heig-hts,  Morris 
Heights, University  Heights,  Kingsbridge  Heights,  Mount  Hope, 
&c.  The  growth  of  the  City  all  the  way  to  Jerome  and  Van 
Cortlandt's  Park  during  the  last  few  years  has  been  marvelous. 
It  has  literally  stepped  across  the  Harlem  River  to  find  room  in 
the  picturesque  county  of  Westchester. 

Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek. — Above  Washington  Heights,  on 
the  east  bank,  the  Spuyten  Duyvil  meets  the  Hudson.  This 
stream  is  the  northern  boundary  of  New  York  Island,  and  a  short 
distance  from  the  Hudson  bears  the  name  of  Harlem  River. 
Its  course  is  south-east  and  joins  the  East  River  at  Randall's 
Island,  just  above  Hell  Gate.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  this  mod- 
est stream  should  be  bounded  by  such  suggestive  appellations  as 
Hell  Gate  and  Spuyten  Duyvil.  This  is  the  first  point  of  special 
legendary  interest  to  one  journeying  up  the  Hudson  and  it  takes 
its  name  according  to  the  veracious  Knickerbocker,  from  the 
following  incident :  It  seems  that  the  famous  Antony  Van 
Corlear  was  despatched  one  evening  with  an  important  message 
up  the  Hudson.  When  he  arrived  at  this  creek  the  wind  was 
high,  the  elements  were  in  an  uproar,  and  no  boatman  at  hand. 
"  For  a  short  time,'' it  is  said,  *' he  va})orod    like   an   impatient 


THE  HUDSON.  75 

ghost  upon  the  brink,  and  then,  bethinking-  himself  of  the 
urgency  of  his  errand,  took  a  hearty  embrace  of  his  stone  bottle, 
swore  most  valorously  that  he  would  swim  across  en  spijt  en  Diiy- 
vil  (in  spite  of  the  Devil)  and  daringly  plunged  into  the  stream. 
Luckless  Antony  I  Scarce  had  he  buffeted  half  way  over  when 
he  was  observed  to  struggle  violently,  as  if  battling  with  the 
spirit  of  the  waters.  Instinctively  he  put  his  trumpet  to  his 
mouth,  and  giving  a  vehement  blast — sank  forever  to  the  bot- 
tom.'' The  mouth  of  the  Spuyten  Duyvil  still  retains  its  old- 
time  reputation  as  a  good  fishing  ground.  The  high  point  of 
land  near  at  hand  was  known  among  the  Manhattans  as  Nip- 
nich-sen. 

The  main  branch  of  the  Hudson  River  Railroad,  with  its  sta- 
tion at  Forty-second  street  and  Fourth  avenue,  crosses  the  Har- 
lem River  at  Mott  Haven,  and,  following  its  northern  bank, 
meets  the  Hudson  at  this  point,  where  the  30th  street  branch,  fol- 
lowing the  river,  joins  the  main  line.  Passing  Riverdale,  with 
its  beautiful  residences  and  the  Convent  of  Mount  St.  Vincent, 
one  of  the  prominent  landmarks  of  the  Hudson,  located  on 
grounds  bought  of  Edwin  Forrest,  the  tragedian,  whose  Font 
Hill  Castle  appears  in  the  foreground,  we  see 

Yonkers,  on  the  East  Bank,  seventeen  miles  from  New 
York,  (population  about  35,000),  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nepperhan 
Creek,  or  Saw  Mill  River.  West  of  the  creek  is  a  large  rock, 
called  Meech-keek-assin,  or  as  given  In  some  of  the  Indian  dia- 
lects, A-mac-ka-sin,  the  great  stone  to  which  the  Indians  paid 
reverence  as  an  evidence  of  the  pei*manency  and  immutability  of 
their  deity.  Steamers,  railway  and  street  cars  meet  at  Central 
Wharf,  and  the  water  front  reveals  business  activity.     Here  are 


THE  HUDSON. 

many  important  manufacturing  industries  :  carpet,  silk,  and  hat 
factories  ;  mowers  and  reapers,  gutta  percha,  rubber  and  pencil 
companies.  Yonkers  is  also  quite  a  centre  for  Aquatic  Clubs : 
the  Yonkers  Boat  Club,  The  Corinthian  and  Yonkers  Yacht 
Clubs  and  the  Yonkers  Canoe  Club. 

It  is  said  that  Yonkers  derived  its  name  from  Yonk-herr — the 
young  heir,  or  young  sir,  of  the  Phillipse  manor.  Until  after 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Phillipse  family  had 
their  jorincipal  residence  at  Castle  Phillipse,  Sleepy  Hollow,  but 
having  purchased  ''property  to  the  southward"  from  Adrian 
Van  der  Donck  and  obtained  from  the  English  King  a  patent 
creating  the  manor  of  Phillipsburgh,  they  moved  from  their  old 
castle  to  the  new  "  Manor  Hall,''  which  at  this  time  was  probably 
the  finest  mansion  on  the  Hudson.  This  property  was  confis- 
cated by  act  of  LiCgislature  in  1779,  as  Frederick  Phillipse,  third 
lord  of  the  manor,  was  thought  to  lean  toward  royalty,  and  sold 
by  the  "  (Commissioners  of  Forfeiture"  in  1785.  It  was  after- 
wards purchased  by  John  Jacob  Astor,  then  passed  to  the  Gov- 
ernment, was  bought  by  the  village  of  Yonkers  in  1868,  and  be- 
came the  City  Hall  in  1872.  The  older  i)ortion  of  the  house  was 
built  in  1682,  the  present  front  in  1745.  The  woodwork  is  very 
interesting,  also  the  ceilings,  the  large  hall  and  the  wide  fire- 
place. In  the  room  still  pointed  out  as  Washington's,  the  fire- 
place retains  the  old  tiles,  "illustrating  familiar  passages  in 
Bible  history,"  fifty  on  (uich  sid(%  looking  as  clear  as  if  they 
were  made  but  yesterday. 

Mary  Phillipse,  belle  of  tlio  ncuglil)()rli()()(l,  and  known  in  tra- 
dition as  Washington's  first  love,  was  born  in  this  "Manor 
House''  July  3d,  1730.     Washington   first  met  iier  at  the  house 


THE   HUDSON.  77 

of  Beverly  Robinson  in  New  York,  (Mrs.  Robinson  being-  her 
eldest  sister),  after  his  return  from  the  unfortunate  Braddock 
Campaig-n.  It  has  been  said  by  several  writers  that  he  proposed 
and  was  rejected,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  he  ever  was  serious 
in  his  attentions.  At  least  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  ever 
"told  his  love,"  and  she  finally  married  Col.  Roger  Morris,  one 
of  Washington's  associates  on  Braddock's  staff.  The  best  part 
of  residential  Yonkers  lies  to  the  northward,  beautifully  em- 
bowered in  trees  as  seen  from  the  Hudson.  A  line  of  electric 
street  cars  runs  north  almost  two  miles  along-  Warburton  Ave- 
nue. The  street  known  as  Broadway,  is  a  continuation  of  Broad- 
way, New  York.  Many  of  the  River  towns  still  keep  this  name, 
probably  prophetic  as  a  part  of  the  great  Broadway  which  will 
extend  some  day  from  the  Battery  to  Peekskill. 

Almost  opposite  Yonkers  a  ravine  or  sort  of  step-ladder  cleft, 
now  known  as  Alpine  Gorge,  reaches  up  the  precipitous  sides  of 
the  Palisades.  The  landing-  here  was  formerly  called  Closter's, 
from  which  a  road  zig-zags  to  the  top  of  the  cliff  and  thence  to 
Closter  Village.  Here  Lord  Grey  disembarked  in  October, 
1778,  and  crossed  to  Hackensack  Valley,  "surprising  and  mas- 
sacring Col.  Bayler's  patriots,  despite  their  surrender  and  calls 
for  mercy". 


78  THE  HUDSON. 

YONKERS  TO  WEST  POINT. 

Passing-  Glenwood,  now  a  suburban  station  of  Yonkers,  con- 
spicuous from  the  Colgate  mansion  near  the  river  bank,  built  by 
a  descendant  of  the  English  Collates  who  were  familiar  friends 
of  William  Pitt,  and  leaders  of  the  Liberal  Club  in  Kent,  Eng- 
land, and  "  Greystone,"  the  country  residence  of  the  late  Samuel 
J.  Tilden,  Governor  of  New  York,  and  Presidential  Candidate 
in  1876,  we  come  to 

Hastings,  where  a  party  of  Hessians  during  the  Revolution- 
ary struggle  were  surprised  and  cut  to  pieces  by  troops  under 
Col.  Sheldon.  It  was  here  also  that  Lord  Cornwallis  embarked 
for  Fort  Lee  after  the  capture  of  Fort  Washington,  and  here  in 
later  days  Garibaldi,  the  liberator  of  Italy,  frequently  came  to 
spend  the  Sabbath  and  visit  friends  when  he  was  living-  at  Staten 
Island.  Although  there  is  apparently  little  to  interest  in  the 
village,  there  are  many  beautiful  residences  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood,  and  the  Old  Post  road  for  two  miles  to  the  north- 
ward furnishes  a  beautiful  walk  or  drive-way,  well  shaded  by 
old  locust  trees.  The  tract  of  country  from  Spuyten  Du3'^vil  to 
Hastings  was  called  by  the  Indians  Kekesick  and  reached  east 
as  far  as  the  Broncks  River.  Passing  Dr.  Huyler's  conspicuous 
Clock-tower  we  see 

Dobbs  Ferry,  named  after  an  old  Swedish  ferryman.  The 
village  has  not  only  a  delightful  location  but  it  is  beautiful  in 
itself.  A  summer  hotel,  the  "Glen  Tower,"  overlooks  the  river 
below  the  railway  station,  and  the  entire  shore  is  filled  with 
country   homes   and   family-seats.     Dobbs    Ferry   in    1781    was 


THE   HUDSON  "9 

"Washington's  Headquarters  and  the  old  house,  still  standing-,  is 
famous  as  the  spot  where  General  Washington  and  the  Count  de 
Rochambeau  planned  the  campaign  against  Yorktown ;  where 
the  evacuation  of  New  York  was  arranged  by  General  Clinton 
and  Sir  Guy  Carleton  the  British  commander,  and  Avhere  the 
first  salute  to  the  flag  of  the  United  States  was  fired  by  a  British 
man-of-war.  On  flag  day,  June  14th,  1894,  the  base -stone  of  a 
memorial  shaft  was  here  laid  with  imposing  ceremony  by  the 
New  York  State  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution, 
which  erected  the  monument.  There  were  one  thousand  Grand 
Army  veterans  in  line,  and  addresses  by  Hon.  Chauncey  M. 
Depew,  Vice-President  Stevenson,  John  C.  Calhoun,  General 
Stewart  L.  Woodford  and  D.  O.  Bradley.  The  Society  and  its 
guests,  including  members  of  the  Cabinet,  officers  of  the  Army 
and  Navy,  and  prominent  men  of  various  States,  accompanied  by 
full  Marine  Band  of  the  Navy  Yard,  with  a  detachment  of  Naval 
Reserves,  participated  in  the  event. 

Voyagers  up  the  river  that  day  saw  the  "  Miantonomoh  ''  and 
the  "  Lancaster,'"  under  the  command  of  Rear- Admiral  Gherardi, 
anchored  raid-stream  to  take  part  in  the  exercises.  During  the 
Revolution  this  historic  house  was  leased  by  a  Dutch  farmer 
holding  under  Frederick  Phillipse  as  landlord.  After  the  war 
it  was  purchased  by  Peter  Livingston  and  known  since  as  the 
Livingston  House.  Arnold  and  Andre  were  to  have  met  here 
but  the  meeting  finally  took  place  at  Haverstraw. 

The  Indian  name  of  Dobbs  Ferry  was  Wecquaskeck,  and  it  iy 
said  by  Ruttenber  that  the  outlines  of  the  old  Indian  village  can 
still  be  traced  by  numerous  shell-beds.  It  was  located  at  the  mouth 
of  Wicker's  Creek  which  was  called  by  the  Indians  Wysquaqua. 


80  THE  HUDSON. 

After  passing  "'Nuits"  the  Cottinet  residence,  Italian  in  style, 
binlt  of  Caen  stone,  "  Nevis,"  home  of  the  late  Col.  James  Ham- 
ilton son  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  the  George  L.  Schuyler 
maisioi),  the  late  Cyrus  W.  Field's,  and  many  pleasant  places 
about  Abbotsford,  we  come  to 

Irvlngton  (on  the  east  bank  24  miles  from  New  York,  popu- 
lation 2.299.)  once  known  as  Dearman's  Station,  but  changed  in 
compliment  to  the  great  writer  and  lover  of  the  Hudson,  who 
after  a  long  sojourn  in  foreign  lands,  returned  to  live  by  the  tran- 
quil waters  of  Tappan  Zee.  In  a  letter  to  his  brother  he  refers 
to  Sleepy  Hollow  as  the  favorite  resort  of  his  boyhood,  and  says : 
"  The  Hudson  is  in  a  manner  my  first  and  last  love,  and  after  all 
my  wanderings  and  seeming  infidelities,  I  return  to  it  with  a 
heartfelt  preference  over  all  the  rivers  of  the  world.''  As  at 
Stratford-on-Avon  every  flower  is  redolent  of  Shakespeare,  and 
at  Melrose  every  stone  speaks  of  Walter  Scott,  so  here  on  every 
breeze  floats  the  spirit  of  AVashington  Irving.  A  short  walk  of 
half  a  mile  north  from  the  station  brings  us  to  his  much-loved 

"  Sunnyside."  Irving  aptly  describes  it  in  one  of  his  stories 
as  "  made  up  of  gable-ends,  and  full  of  angles  and  corners  as  an 
old  cocked  hat.  It  is  said,  in  fact,  to  have  been  modeled  after 
the  hat  of  Peter  the  Headstrong,  as  the  Escurial  of  Spain  was 
fashioned  after  the  gridiron  of  the  blessed  St.  Lawrence.''  Wol- 
fert's  Roost,  as  it  was  once  styled,  (Roost  signifying  Rest,)  took 
its  name  from  Wolfert  Acker,  a  former  owner.  It  consisted 
originally  of  ten  acres  when  purchased  by  Irving  in  1835,  but 
eight  acres  were  afterwards  added.  With  great  humor  Irving 
put  above  the  porch  entrance  "George  Harvey,  Boum'r," 
Boumeister  being  an  old  Dutch  word  for  architect.     A  storm- 


SUNNYSIDE,   WITH  VIGNETTE  OF  SLEEPY  HOLLOW. 


THE  HUDSON.  83 

worn  weather-cock,  "which  once  battled  with  the  wind  on  the 
top  of  the  Stadt  House  of  New  Amsterdam  in  the  time  of  Peter 
Stuyvesant,  erects  his  crest  on  the  gable,  and  a  gilded  horse  in 
full  gallop,  once  the  weathercock  of  the  great  Van  der  Heyden 
palace  of  Albany,  glitters  in  the  sunshine,  veering  with  every 
breeze,  on  the  peaked  turret  over  the  portal." 

About  fifty  years  ago  a  cutting  of  Walter  Scott's  favorite  ivy 
at  Melrose  Abbey  was  transported  across  the  Atlantic,  and 
trained  over  the  porch  of  "Sunnyside,"  by  the  hand  of  Mrs. 
Renwick,  daughter  of  Rev.  Andrew  Jeffrey  of  Lochmaben, 
known  in  girlhood  as  the  "  Bonnie  Jessie  *'  of  Annandale,  or  the 
"  Blue-eyed  Lassie  "  of  Robert  Burns  : — a  graceful  tribute,  from 
the  shrine  of  Waverley  to  the  nest  of  Knickerbocker : 

A  token  of  friendship  immortal 
With  Washington  Irving  returns  : — 

Scott" s  ivy  entwined  o'er  his  portal 
By  the  Blue-eyed  Lassie  of  Burns. 

Scott's  cordial  greeting  at  Abbotsford,  and  his  persistence  in 
getting  Murray  to  reconsider  the  publication  of  the  "Sketch 
Book,*'  which  he  had  previously  declined,  were  never  forgotten 
by  Irving.  It  was  during  a  critical  period  of  his  literary  career, 
and  the  kindness  of  the  Great  Magician,  in  directing  early  at- 
tention to  his  genius,  is  still  cherished  by  every  reader  of  the 
"  Sketch  Book  "  from  Manhattan  to  San  Francisco.  The  hearty 
grasp  of  the  Minstrel  at  the  gateway  of  Abbotsford  was  in  real- 
ity a  warm  handshake  to  a  wider  brotherhood  beyond  the  sea. 

It  was  here,  at  Sunnyside,  that  Daniel  Webster  came,  when 
Secretary  of  State  in  1842,  and  surprised  Irving  with  his  ap- 
pointment as  Minister  to  Spain,  remarking  to  a  friend  on  the 


THE  HUDSON. 

journey,  "Washing-ton  Irving-  to-day  will  be  the  most  surprised 
man  in  America.''  Irving  had  already  shown  diplomatic  ability 
in  London  in  promoting-  the  settlement  of  the  "North  Western 
Boundary,-'  and  his  appointment  was  received  with  universal 
favor.  Then  as  now  Sunnyside  was  already  a  Mecca  for  travel- 
ers, and,  among  many  well-known  to  fame,  was  a  young  man, 
afterwards  Napoleon  the  Third.  Referring  to  this  visit,  Irving 
wrote  in  1853  :  "  Napoleon  and  Eugenie,  Emperor  and  Empress  ! 
The  one  I  have  had  as  a  guest  at  my  cottage,  the  other  I  have 
held  as  a  pet  child  upon  my  knee  in  Granada.  The  last  I  saw  of 
Eugenie  Montijo,  she  was  one  of  the  reigning  belles  of  Madrid  ; 
now,  she  is  upon  the  throne,  launched  from  a  returnless  shore, 
upon  a  dangerous  sea,  infamous  for  its  tremendous  shipAvrecks. 
Am  I  to  live  to  see  the  catastrophe  of  her  career,  and  the  end  of 
this  suddenly  conjured  up  empire,  which  seems  to  be  of  such 
stuff  as  dreams  are  made  of  ?  I  confess  my  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  the  individuals  in  this  historical  romance  gives  me 
uncommon  interest  in  it ;  but  I  consider  it  stamped  with  danger 
and  instability,  and  as  liable  to  extravagant  vicissitudes  as  one 
of  Dumas'  novels."  A  wonderful  prophecy  comi)letely  fulfilled 
in  the  short  space  of  seventeen  years. 

The  aggregate  sale  of  Irving's  works  when  he  received  his 
portfolio  to  Spain  was  already  more  than  half  a  million  copies, 
with  an  equal  popularity  achieved  in  Britain.  No  writer  was 
ever  more  truly  loved  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  and  his  name 
is  cherished  to-day  in  England  as  fondly  as  it  is  in  our  own 
country.  It  has  been  the  good  fortune  of  the  writer  to  spend 
many  a  delightful  day  in  the  very  centre  of  Merrie  England,  in 
the  quiet  town  of  Stnitford-on-Avon,  and  foci  the  gentle  compan- 


THE  HUDSON.  ^ 

ionship  of  Irving'.  Of  all  writers  who  have  broug*iii;  to  Stratford 
their  heart  homage  Irving  stands  the  acknowledged  chief. 
The  sitting-room  in  the  "Red  Horse  Hotel,"  where  he  was  dis- 
turbed in  his  midnight  reverie,  is  still  called  Irving's  room,  and 
the  walls  are  hung  with  portraits  taken  at  different  periods  of 
his  life.  Mine  host  said  that  visitors  from  every  land  were  as 
much  interested  in  this  room  as  in  Shakespeare's  birth-place. 
The  remark  may  have  been  intensified  to  flatter  an  American 
visitor,  but  there  are  few  names  dearer  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race 
than  that  on  the  plain  headstone  in  the  burial-yard  of  Sleepy 
Hollow.  Sunnyside  is  scarcely  visible  to  the  Day  Line  tourist. 
A  little  gleam  of  white  here  and  there  amid  the  trees,  close 
to  the  river  bank,  near  a  small  boat-house,  merely  indicates 
its  location;  and  the  traveler  by  train  has  only  a  hurried  glimpse, 
as  it  is  within  one  hundred  feet  of  the  New  York  Central 
Railroad.  Tappan  Zee,  at  this  point,  is  a  little  more  than  two 
miles  wide  and  over  the  beautiful  expanse  Irving  has  thrown  a 
wondrous  charm.  There  is,  in  fact,  "  magic  in  the  web  "  of  all 
his  works.  A  few  modern  critics,  lacking  appreciation  alike  for 
humor  and  genius,  may  regard  his  essays  as  a  thing  of  the  past, 
but  as  long  as  the  Mahicanituk,  the  ever-flowing  Hudson,  pours 
its  waters  to  the  sea,  as  long  as  Rip  Van  Winkle  sleeps  in  the 
blue  Catskills,  or  the  "Headless  Horseman"  rides  at  midnight 
along  the  old  Post  Road  en  route  for  Teller's  Point,  so  long  will  the 
writings  of  Washington  Irving  be  remembered  and  cherished. 
We  somehow  feel  the  reality  of  every  legend  he  has  given  us. 
The  spring  bubbling  up  near  his  cottage  was  brought  over,  as  he 
gravely  tells  us,  in  a  churn  from  Holland  by  one  of  the  old  time 
settlers,  and  we  are  half  vr>^?^r>^A  to  believe  it ;  and  no  one  ever 


86 


THE  HUDSON. 


thinks  of  doubting-  that  the  '*  Flying-  Dutchman,"  Mynheer  Van 
Dam,  has  been  rowing  for  two  hundred  years  and  never  made  a 
port.  It  is  in  fact  still  said  by  the  old  inhabitants,  that  often  in 
the  soft  twilight  of  summer  evenings,  when  the  sea  is  like  glass 
and  the  opposite  hills  throw  their  shadows  across  it,  that  the  low 
vigorous  pull  of  oars  is  heard  but  no  boat  is  seen. 

According  to  Irving  "  Sunnyside  "  was  once  the  property  of 
old  Baltus  Van  Tassel,  and  here  lived  the  fair  Katrina,  beloved 
by  all  the  youths  of  the  neighborhood,  but  more  especially  by 
Ichabod  Crane,  the  country  school-master,  and  a  reckless  youth 
by  the  name  of  Van  Brunt.  Irving  tells  us  that  he  thought  out 
the  story  one  morning  on  London  Bridge,  and  went  home  and 
completed  it  in  thirty-six  hours.  The  character  of  Ichabod 
Crane  was  taken  from  a  young  man  whom  he  met  at  Kinderhook 
when  writing  his  Knickerbocker  history.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  Ichabod  Crane  went  to  a  quilting-bee  at  the  home  of 
Mynheer  Van  Tassel,  and,  after  the  repast,  was  regaled  with 
various  ghost  stories  peculiar  to  the  locality.  When  the  ' '  party  " 
was  over  he  lingered  for  a  time  with  the  fair  Katrina,  but 
sallied  out  soon  after  with  an  air  quite  desolate  and  chop-fallen. 
The  night  grew  darker  and  darker.  He  had  never  before  felt 
so  lonesome  and  miserable.  As  he  passed  the  fatal  tree  where  Ar- 
nold was  captured,  there  started  up  before  him  the  identical 
"Headless  Horseman"  to  whom  he  had  been  introduced  by  the 
story  of  Brom  Bones.  Nay,  not  entirely  headless  ;  for  the  head 
which  "should  have  rested  upon  his  shoulders  was  carried  before 
him  on  the  pommel  of  the  saddle.  His  terror  rose  to  desperation. 
He  rode  for  death  and  life.  The  strange  horseman  sped  beside 
him  at  an  equal  pace.    He  fell  into  a  walk.    The  strange  horse- 


THE  HUDSON.  fe7 

man  did  the  same.  He  endeavored  to  sing-  a  psalm-tune,  but  his 
tongue  clove  to  the  roof  of  his  mouth.  If  he  could  but  reach  the 
bridge  Ichabod  thought  he  would  be  safe.  Away  then  he  flew 
in  rapid  flight.  He  reached  the  bridge,  he  thundered  over  the 
resounding  planks.  Then  he  saw  the  goblin  rising  in  his  stir- 
rups, and  in  the  very  act  of  launching  his  head  at  him.  It  en- 
countered his  cranium  with  a  tremendous  crash.  He  was  tum- 
bled headlong  into  the  dirt,  and  the  black  steed  and  the  spectral 
rider  passed  by  like  a  whirlwind.  The  next  day  tracks  of  horses 
deeply  dented  in  the  road  were  traced  to  the  bridge,  beyond 
which,  on  the  bank  of  a  broad  part  of  the  brook,  where  the  water 
ran  deep  and  black,  was  found  the  hat  of  the  unfortunate  Icha- 
bod, and  close  beside  it  a  shattered  pumpkin.''  All  honor  to  him 
who  fills  this  working-day  world  with  romance  and  beauty  I 

Piermont  (population  1,219),  lies  directly  opposite  Irvington, 
just  above  the  Palisades,  which  here  recede  from  the  shore  and 
lose  their  wall-like  character.  The  long  pier  which  gives  the 
name  to  the  village,  projecting-  almost  one  mile  into  the  bay, 
is  a  terminus  of  the  Erie  Railway,  connecting  with  the  main  line 
about  eighteen  miles  distant.  The  old  Rockland  Cemetery 
situated  near  Sparkhill,  overlooking  the  Hudson,  has  been 
recently  purchased  by  New  York  capitalists,  looking  to  the  com- 
ing burial  necessities  of  greater  New  York.  Two  hundred  acres 
have  already  been  secured  and  other  grounds  will  be  added.  It 
is  said  that  this  will  be  the  largest  cemetery  in  the  world.  Four 
broad  plateaus  rise  by  gentle  slope  to  an  altitude  of  several  hun- 
dred feet,  from  which  eminence  can  be  seen  five  States  :— New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Massachusetts  and  Connecti- 
cut.    In  the  receiving  vault  lies  the  body  of  General  John  C. 


88 


THE  HUDSON. 


Fremont,  and  it  is  expected  that  a  handsome  monument  will  be 
erected  to  his  memory.  The  old  village  of  Tappan  is  about  two 
miles  from  Piermont,  where  Major  Andre  was  executed  October 
2d,  1780.  The  removal  of  his  body  from  Tappan  to  Westminster 
was  by  a  special  British  ship,  and  a  singular  incident  was  con- 
nected with  it.  The  roots  of  a  cypress  tree  were  found  entwined 
about  his  skull  and  a  scion  from  the  tree  was  carried  to  England 
and  planted  in  the  garden  adjoining  Windsor  Palace.  It  is  a 
still  more  curious  fact  that  the  tree  beneath  which  Andre  was 
captured  was  struck  by  lightning  on  the  day  of  Benedict  Ar- 
nold's death  in  London.  Further  reference  will  be  made  to 
Andre  in  our  description  of  Tarry  town,  and  of  Haverstraw, 
where  Arnold  and  Andre  met  at  the  house  of  Joshua  Hett  Smith. 
Tarry  town  (26  miles  from  New  York,  population  3,562,  North 
Tarrytown  3,179).  Between  Irvington  and  Tarrytown  there  are 
many  imposing  mansions.  Most  conspicuous  of  all  is  the  old 
Paulding  House,  built  by  a  descendant  of  John  Paulding.  Jay 
Gould  died  possessed  of  the  property  and  it  is  now  owned  by  his 
heirs.  John  D.  Archibald's  house  is  also  notably  fine.  The 
Tappan  Zee  at  Tarrytown  is  nearly  three  miles  wide.  It  was  here 
on  the  old  Post  Road,  now  called  Broadway,  a  little  north  of  the 
village,  that  Andre  was  captured  and  Arnold's  treachery  exposed. 
A  monument  erected  on  the  spot  by  the  people  of  Westchester 
County,  October  7,  1853,  bears  the  following  inscription  : 

ON  THIS  SPOT,  THE  23d  DAY  OF  SEPTEMBER,  1780,  THE  SPY, 

MAJOR  JOHN  ANDRE, 

Adjutant-General  of  the  British  Army,  was  captured  by 

John  Paulding,  David  Williams,  and  Isaac  Van  Wart. 

all  natives  of  this  county. 

Ilistory  has  told  tlie  rest. 


THE  HUDSON.  gg 

The  following-  quaint  ballad-verses  on  the  young  hero  give  a 
realistic  touch  to  one  of  the  most  providential  occurrences  in  our 
history: 

He  with  a  scouting  party 

Went  down  to  Tarrytown, 
"Where  he  met  a  British  officer, 

A  man  of  high  renown, 
"Who  says  unto  these  gentlemen, 
"You're  of  the  British  cheer, 
I  trust  that  you  can  tell  me 
If  there's  any  danger  near  ?  " 

Then  up  stept  this  young  hero, 
John  Paulding  was  his  name, 
"Sir,  tell  us  where  you're  going 
And  also  whence  you  came  ? " 
"  I  bear  the  British  flag,  sir  ; 
I've  a  pass  to  go  this  way, 
I'm  on  an  expedition, 
And  have  no  time  to  stay." 

Young  Paulding,  however,  thought  that  he  had  plenty  of  time 
to  linger  until  he  examined  his  boots,  wherein  he  found  the 
papers,  and,  when  ofifered  ten  guineas  by  Andre,  if  he  would  al- 
low him  to  pursue  his  journey,  replied  :  "  If  it  were  ten  thousand 
guineas  you  could  not  stir  one  step."' 

The  Centennial  Anniversary  of  the  event  was  commemorated 
in  1880  by  placing,  through  the  generosity  of  John  Anderson, 
on  the  original  obelisk  of  1853,  a  large  statue  representing  John 
Paulding  as  a  minute-man. 

Tarrytown  was  the  very  heart  of  the  Debatable  Ground  of 
the  Revolution  and  many  striking  incidents  mark  its  early  his- 
tory.    In  1777  Vaughan's  troops   landed  here  on  their  way  to 


90  THE  HUDSON. 

attack  Fort  Montgomery,  and  here  a  party  of  Americans,  under 
Major  Hunt,  surprised  a  number  of  Britisli  refugees  while  play- 
ing cards  at  the  Van  Tassel  tavern.  The  major  completely 
"  turned  the  cards '' upon  them  by  rushing  in  with  brandished 
stick,  which  he  brought  down  with  emphasis  upon  the  table,  re- 
marking with  genuine  American  brevity,  ''Gentlemen,  clubs 
are  trumps."  Here,  too,  according  to  Irving,  arose  the  two 
great  orders  of  chivalry,  the  "  Cow  Boys  "  and  '*  Skinners."  The 
former  fought,  or  rather  marauded  under  the  American,  the 
latter  under  the  British  banner ;  the  former  were  known  as 
"  Highlanders,"  the  latter  as  the  "  Lower  Party."  In  the  zeal 
of  service  both  were  apt  to  make  blunders,  and  confound  the 
property  of  friend  and  foe.  "Neither  of  them,  in  the  heat  and 
hurry  of  a  foray,  had  time  to  ascertain  the  politics  of  a  horse  or 
cow  which  they  were  driving  off  into  captivity,  nor  when  they 
wrung  the  neck  of  a  rooster  did  they  trouble  their  heads  whether 
he  crowed  for  Congress  or  King  George." 

It  was  also  a  genial,  reposeful  country  for  the  faithful  his- 
torian, Diedrich  Knickerbocker ;  and  here  he  picked  up  many 
of  those  legends  which  were  given  by  him  to  the  world.  One  of 
these  was  the  legend  connected  with  the  old  Dutch  Church  of 
Sleepy  Hollow.  '  'A  drowsy,  dreamy  influence  seems  to  hang  over 
the  land,  and  to  pervade  the  very  atmosphere.  Some  say  the 
place  was  bewitched  by  a  high  German  doctor  during  the  early 
days  of  the  settlement;  others  that  an  old  Indian  chief,  the 
wizard  of  his  tribe,  held  his  pow-wows  there  before  Hendrich 
Hudson's  discovery  of  the  river.  The  dominant  spirit,  however, 
that  haunts  this  enchanted  region,  is  the  apparition  of  a  figure 
on  horse-back,  without  a  head,  said  to  be  the  ghost  of  a  Hessian 


THE  HUDSON. 


91 


trooper,  and  was  known  at  all  the  country  firesides  as  the 
'Headless  horseman '  of  Sleepy  Hollow." 

Sleepy  Hollow. — The  Old  Dutch  Church,  the  oldest  on  the 
Hudson,  is  about  one-half  mile  north  from  Tarrytown. 

It  was  built  by  "Frederick  Filipse  and  his  wife  Katrina  Van 
Cortland  in  1690."  The  material  is  i)artly  of  stone  and  partly  of 
brick  brought  from  Holland.     It  stands  as  an  appropriate  senti- 


SLEEPY  HOLLOW  CHURCH. 


nel  near  the  entrance  to  the  burial-yard  where  Irving  sleeps. 
After  entering-  the  gate  our  way  leads  past  the  graves  of  the 
Ackers,  the  Van  Tassels,  and  the  Van  Warts,  with  inscriptions 
and  plump  Dutch  cherubs  on  every  side  that  often  de- 
lighted the  heart  of  Diedrich  Knickerbocker.  How  many  wor- 
shippers since  that  November  day  in  1859,  have  come  hither 


92  THE  HUDSON. 

with  reverent  footsteps  to  read  on  the  plain  slab  this  simple  in- 
scription: "Washing-ton  Irving,  born  April  3,  1783.  Died  No- 
vember 28, 1859."  And  what  a  beautiful  tribute  from  Longfellow 
"  In  the  churchyard  at  Tarry  town  !  " 

"  Here  lies  the  gentle  humorist,  who  died 
In  the  bright  Indian  Summer  of  his  fame. 
A  simple  stone,  with  but  a  date  and  name, 

Marks  his  secluded  resting  place  beside 

The  river  that  he  loved  and  glorified. 
Here  in  the  Autumn  of  his  days  he  came, 
But  the  dry  leaves  of  life  were  all  aflame 

With  tints  that  brightened  and  were  multiplied. 

How  sweet  a  life  was  his,  how  sweet  a  death : 

Living  to  wing  with  mirth  the  weary  hours, 
Or  with  romantic  tales  the  heart  to  cheer  ; 

Dying  to  leave  a  memory  like  the  breath 

Of  Summers  full  of  sunshine  and  of  showers, 
A  grief  and  gladness  in  the  atmosphere." 

Sleepy  Hollow  Church,  like  Sunnyside,  is  hidden  away  from  the 
steamer  tourist  by  summer  foliag^e.  Just  before  reaching  Kings- 
land  Point  light-house,  a  view,  looking  northeast  up  the  little 
bay  to  the  right,  will  sometimes  give  the  outline  of  the  building. 
Beyond  this  a  tall  granite  shaft,  erected  by  the  Delavan  family, 
is  generally  quite  distinctly  seen,  and  this  is  near  the  grave  of 
Irving.  The  light-house,  built  in  1883,  marks  the  southern  point 
of  the  Kingsland  estate,  and  just  below  this  the  l*ocantico  or 
Sleepy  Hollow  Creek  joins  the  Hudson  : 
Pocantico's  hushed  waters  glide 

Through  Sleepy  Hollow's  haunted  ground, 
And  whisper  to  the  listening  tide 
The  name  c.irved  o'er  one  lowly  mound. 


THE  HUDSON.  93 

To  one  loving-  our  early  history  and  legends  there  is  no  spot 
more  central  or  delightful  than  Tarrytown.  Irving  humorously 
says  that  Tarrytown  took  its  name  from  husbands  tarrying  too 
late  at  the  village  tavern,  but  its  real  derivation  is  Tarwen- 
Dorp,  or  Wheat-town.  The  name  of  the  old  Indian  village  at 
this  point  was  Alipconck  (the  place  of  elms).  It  has  often  oc- 
curred to  the  writer  that,  more  than  any  other  river,  the  Hudson 
has  a  distinct  personality,  and  also  that  the  four  main  divisions 
of  human  life  are  particularly  marked  in  the  Adirondacks,  the 
Catskills,  the  Highlands  and  Tappan  Bay  : 

The  Adirondacks,  childhood's  glee  ; 

The  Catskills,  youth  with  dreams  o'ercast  * 
The  Highlands,  manhood  bold  and  free  ; 

The  Tappan  Zee,  age  come  at  last. 

This  was  the  spot  that  Irving  loved  ;  we  linger  by  his  grave 
at  Sleepy  Hollow  with  devotion  ;  we  sit  upon  his  porch  at  Sunny- 
side  with  reverence  : 

Thrice  blest  and  happy  Tappan  Zee, 

Whose  banks  along  thy  waters  wide 
Have  legend,  truth,  and  poetry 

Sweetly  expressed  in  Sunnyside  I 

Nyack,  on  the  west  side,  (27  miles  from  New  York,  terminus 
of  the  Northern  Railroad  of  New  Jersey,  connected  with  Tarry- 
town by  ferry  ;  population  4,111,  South  Nyack  1,496,)  lies  in  a 
semi-circle  of  hills  which  sweep  back  from  Piermont,  meeting 
the  river  again  at  the  northern  end  of  Tappan  Zee.  Tappan 
is  derived  from  an  Indian  tribe  of  that  name,  which,  being 
translated,  is  said  to  signify  cold  water.  The  bay  is  ten  miles  ir 
length,  with  an  average  breadth  of  about  two  miles  and  a  half. 


94  THE  HUDSON. 

Nyack  grows  steadily  in  favor  as  a  place  for  Summer  resi- 
dents. The  hotels,  boarding-houses  and  suburban  homes  would 
increase  the  census  as  given  to  nearly  ten  thousand  people.  The 
West  Shore  Hailroad  is  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  Hudson, 
with  station  at  West  Nyack.  The  'Northern  Bailroad  of  New 
Jersey,  leased  by  the  New  York,  Lake  Erie  and  Western,  (Cham- 
bers Street  and  23d  Street,  New  York)  passes  west  of  the 
Bergen  Hills  and  the  Palisades.  The  Ramapo  Mountains,  north 
of  Nyack,  were  formerly  known  by  ancient  mariners  as  the 
Hook,  or  Point-no-Point.  They  come  down  to  the  river  in  little 
headlands,  the  points  of  which  disappear  as  the  steamer  nears 
them.  The  peak  to  the  south  is  730  feet  high.  They  were 
sometimes  called  by  Dutch  captains  Verditege  Hook.  Perhaps 
it  took  so  long  to  pass  these  illusive  headlands,  reaching  as  they 
do  eight  miles  along  the  western  bank,  that  it  naturally  seemed 
a  very  tedious  point  to  the  old  skippers.  Midway  in  this  Ramapo 
Range,  "set  in  a  dimple  of  the  hills,"  is — 

Rockland  Lake,  source  of  the  Hackensack  River,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  above  the  sea.  The  "  slide  way,"  by  which 
the  ice  is  sent  down  to  the  boats  to  be  loaded,  can  be  seen  from 
the  steamer,  and  the  blocks  in  motion,  as  seen  by  the  traveler, 
resemble  little  white  pigs  running  down  an  inclined  plane.  As 
we  look  at  the  great  ice-houses  to-day,  which,  like  uncouth 
barns,  stand  here  and  there  along  the  Hudson,  it  does  not  seem 
possible  that  only  a  few  years  ago  ice  was  decidedly  unpopular, 
and  wheeled  about  New  York  in  a  hand-cart.  Think  of  one 
hand-{;art  supplying  New  York  with  ice  !  It  was  considered  un- 
healthy, and  called  foi-th  many  learned  discussions. 

Returning  to  the  cast  ])ank,  we  see  above  Tarrytown  many 


'/  r 


y    V    I   ^  A 


<ri   \  \  \  ^ 


THE  HUDSON.  95 

delig^litful  residences,  notably  among-  these  "Rockwood,"  the 
home  of  William  Rockefeller,  President  of  the  Standard  Oil 
Company.  The  estate  of  General  James  Watson  Webb  is  also 
near  at  hand,  one  of  whose  sons,  Vice-President  of  the  'New  York 
Central  Railroad,  has  recently  carried  a  new  and  pleasant  railway 
into  the  very  heart  of  the  Adirondacks.  Passing-  Scarborough 
Landing,  with  the  Hook  Mountain  and  Ball  Mountains  on  the 
left,  we  see 

Sing  Sing,  on  the  east  bank  (32  miles  from  New  York  ;  popu- 
lation 9,352).  The  low  white  buildings,  near  the  river  bank,  are 
the  State's  Prison.  They  are  constructed  of  marble,  but  are  not 
considered  palatial  by  the  1,700  prisoners  that  occupy  the  cells. 
It  was  quarried  near  by,  and  the  prisons  were  built  by  convicts 
imported  from  Auburn  in  1826.  Saddlery,  furniture,  shoes,  etc., 
are  manufactured  within  its  walls.  There  was  an  Indian  chief- 
tancy  here  known  as  the  Sint-sinks.  In  a  deed  to  Philip  Phil- 
lipse  in  1685  a  stream  is  referred  to  as  "  Kitchewan  called  by 
the  Indians  Sink-Sink."  The  Indian  Village  was  known  as 
Ossinsing,  from  "  ossin ''  a  stone  and  "sing"  a  place,  probably 
so  called  from  the  rocky  and  stony  character  of  the  river  banks. 
The  heights  above  Tappan  Zee  at  this  point  are  crowned  by  fine 
residences,  and  the  village  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  on  the  river. 
The  drives  among  the  hills  are  delightful  and  present  a  wide 
and  charming  outlook.  Here  also  are  several  flourishing  mili- 
tary boarding  schools  and  a  seminary  for  girls.  The  old  silver 
and  copper  mines  once  worked  here  never  yielded  satisfactory 
returns  for  invested  capital.  Few  towns  are  better  equipped  as 
to  water  and  fire  department  service,  and  the  people  are  well  ac- 
commodated in  having  thirty  trains  and  one  steamboat  daily  to 


96  THE  HUDSON. 

and  from  l^(ew  York.     Various  industries  g"ive  active  life  and 
prosperity  to  the  town.     Just  above  Sino^  Sing 

Croton  River,  known  by  the  Indians  as  Kitchawonk,  joins 
the  Hudson  in  a  bay  crossed  by  the  Kew  York  Central  Hailroad 
Croton  draw-bridge.  East  of  this  point  is  a  water  shed  having 
an  area  of  350  square  miles,  which  supplies  New  York  with 
water.  The  Croton  Reservoir  is  easily  reached  by  a  pleasant 
carriage  drive  from  Sing  Sing,  and  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  the 
pitcher  and  ice-cooler  of  New  York,  or  in  other  words,  Croton 
Dam  and  Rockland  Lake,  should  be  ahnost  opposite.  About 
fifty  years  ago  the  Croton  first  made  its  appearance  in  New 
York,  brought  in  by  an  aqueduct  of  solid  masonry  which  follows 
the  course  of  the  Hudson  near  the  old  Post  Road,  or  at  an  aver- 
age distance  of  about  a  mile  from  the  east  bank.  Here  and  there 
its  course  can  be  traced  by  "  white  stone  ventilating  towers" 
from  Sing  Sing  to  High  Bridge,  which  conveys  the  acqueduct 
across  the  Harlem  River.  Its  capacity  is  100,000,000  gallons  per 
day,  which  however  began  to  be  inadequate  for  the  City  and  a 
new  aqueduct  was  therefore  begun  in  1884  and  completed  in 
1890,  capable  of  carrying  three  times  that  amount,  at  a  cost  of 
$25,000,000.  The  water-shed  is  well  supplied  with  streams  and 
lakes.  Lake  MahopaC;  one  of  its  fountains,  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  sheets  of  water  near  the  metroxwlis,  and  easily  accessi- 
ble by  a  pleasant  drive  from  Peekskill,  or  by  the  Harlem  Rail- 
road from  New  York.  The  old  Indian  name  was  Ma-cook-pake, 
signifying  a  large  inland  lake,  or  perhaps  an  island  near  the 
shore.  The  same  derivation,  we  imagine,  is  also  seen  in  Copake 
Lake,  Columbia  County.  On  an  island  of  Mahopac  the  last  great 
"  convention  "  of  the  southern  tribes  of  the   Hudson  was   held. 


THE  HUDSON.  97 

The  lake  is  about  800  feet  above  tide,  and  it  is  pleasant  to  know 
that  the  bright  waters  of  Mahopac  and  the  clear  streams  of  Put- 
nam and  Westchester  are  conveyed  to  New  York  even  as  the 
poetic  waters  of  Lock  Katrine  to  the  City  of  Glasgow. 

Just  above  Croton  Bay  and  the  Xeic  York  Central  Bailroad 
Draw-bridg-e  will  be  seen  the  old  Van  Cortlandt  Manor,  where 
Frederick  Phillipse  and  Katrina  Van  Cortlandt  were  married, 
as  seen  by  the  inscription  on  the  old  Dutch  Church  of  Sleepy 
Hollow. 

Teller's  Point  f  sometimes  known  as  Croton  or  Underhill's 
Point  .  separates  Tappan  Zee  from  Haverstraw  Bay.  It  was 
called  by  the  Indians  "  Senasqua."  Tradition  says  that  ancient 
warriors  still  haunt  the  surrounding  glens  and  woods,  and  the 
sachems  of  Teller's  Point  are  household  words  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. It  is  also  said  that  there  was  once  a  great  Indian  battle 
here,  and  perhaps  the  ghosts  of  the  old  warriors  are  attracted 
by  the  Underbill  grapery  and  the  10,000  gallons  of  wine  bottled 
every  season. 

The  river  now  opens  into  a  beautiful  bay,  four  miles  in 
width,— a  bed  large  enough  to  tuck  up  fifteen  River  Rhines  side 
by  side.  This  reach  sometimes  seems  in  the  bright  sunlight 
like  a  molten  bay  of  silver,  and  the  tourist  finds  relief  in  adjust- 
ing his  smoked  glasses  to  temper  the  dazzling  light. 

Haverstraw. — (37  miles  from  New  York,  population  about 
5,000).  Haverstraw  Bay  is  sometimes  said  to  be  five  miles  wide. 
Its  widest  point  however,  from  Croton  Landing  to  Haverstraw 
is,  according  to  recent  United  States  Geological  Survey,  exactly 
four  miles.  The  principal  industry  of  Haverstraw  is  brick-mak- 
ing, and   its  brick-yards   reaching   north  to   Grassy  Point,  are 


98  THE  HUDSON. 

generally  prosperous  if  not  picturesque.  The  place  was  called 
Haverstraw  by  the  Dutch,  perhaps  as  a  place  of  rye  straw,  to 
distinguish  it  from  Tarrytown.  a  place  of  wheat.  The  Indian 
name  has  been  lost  :  but,  if  its  original  derivation  is  uncertain, 
it  at  least  calls  up  the  rhyme  of  old-time  river  captains,  which 
Captain  Anderson  of  the  Mary  Powell  told  the  writer  he  used 
to  hear  frequently  when  a  boy  : 

"  West  Point  and  Middletown, 
Konnosook  and  Doodletown, 
Kakiak  and  Mamapaw, 
Stony  Point  and  Haverstraw." 

Quaint  as  these  names  now  sound,  they  all  are  found  on  old 
maps  of  the  Hudson. 

High  Torn  is  the  name  of  the  northern  point  of  the  Ramapo 
on  the  west  bank,  south  of  Haverstraw.  According  to  the  Coast 
Survey,  it  is  820  feet  above  tide-water,  and  the  view  from  the 
summit  is  grand  and  extensive.  The  origin  of  the  name  is  not 
clear,  but  it  has  lately  occurred  to  the  writer,  from  a  recent 
reading  of  Scotfs  "  Peveril  of  the  Peak.'"  that  it  might  have 
been  named  from  the  Torn,  a  mountain  in  Derbyshire,  either 
from  its  appearance,  or  by  some  patriotic  settler  from  the  cen- 
tral water-shed  of  England.  Others  say  it  is  the  Devonshire 
word  Tor  changed  to  Torn,  evidently  derived  from  the  same 
source. 

West  Shore  Railroad.— The  tourist  will  see  at  this  point, 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  the  tunnel  whereby  the  "  West 
Shore  "  finds  egress  from  the  mountains.  The  traveler  over  this 
railway,  on  emerging  from  the  quiet  valley  west  of  the  Pali- 
sades, comes  upon  a  sudden  vision  of  beauty  unrivaled  in  any 


THE,  HUDSON.  99 

land.  The  broad  river  seems  like  a  great  inland  lake  ;  and  the 
height  of  the  tunnel  above  the  silver  bay  gives  to  the  panoramic 
landscape  a  wondrous  charm.  About  a  mile  from  the  river, 
southwest  of  Grassy  Point,  on  the  farther  side  of  the  winding 
Minnissickuongo  Creek,  which  finally  after  long  meandering 
makes  up  its  mind  to  glide  into  Stony  Point  Bay,  will  be  seen 
Treason  Hill  marked  by  the  Joshua  Hett  Smith  stone  house 
where  Arnold  and  Andre  met.  The  story  of  this  meeting  will 
be  referred  to  at  greater  length  in  connection  with  its  most 
dramatic  incident  at  the  old  Beverly  House  in  the  Highlands. 
The  Hudson  here  is  about  two  miles  in  width  and  narrows  rap- 
idly to 

Stony  Point,  where  it  is  scarcely  more  than  half  a  mile  wide. 
This  was,  therefore,  an  important  pass  during  the  Revolution. 
The  crossing  near  at  hand  was  known  as  King's  Ferry,  at  and 
before  the  days  of  "76,  and  was  quite  an  avenue  of  travel  between 
the  Southern,  Middle  and  Eastern  States.  The  fort  crowning  a 
commanding  headland,  was  captured  from  the  Americans  by 
the  British,  June  1,  1779,  but  it  was  surprised  and  recaptured  by 
Anthony  Wayne,  July  15  of  the  same  year.  A  centtennial  was 
observed  at  the  place  July  15,  1879,  when  the  battle  was  "re- 
fought  •'  and  the  West  Point  Cadets  showed  how  they  would 
have  done  it  if  they  had  been  on  hand  a  century  ago.  Thacke- 
ray, in  his  "Virginians,"  gives  perhaps  the  most  graphic  ac- 
count of  this  midnight  battle.  The  present  light-house  occupies 
the  site  of  the  old  fort,  and  was  built  in  part  of  stone  taken  from 
its  walls.  Upon  its  capture  by  the  British,  Washington,  whose 
headquarters  were  at  New  Windsor,  meditated  a  bold  stroke 
and    summoned    Anthony   Wayne,    more    generally   known  as 


100  THE   HUDSON. 

"Mad  Anthony,"  from  his  reckless  daring,  to  undertake  its  re- 
capture with  a  force  of  one  thousand  picked  men.  The  lines  were 
formed  in  two  columns  about  8  p.  m.  at  "  Spring-steel's  farm." 
Each  soldier  and  officer  put  a  piece  of  white  paper  in  his  hat  to 
distinguish  him  from  the  foe.  •  No  guns  were  to  be  loaded  under 
penalty  of  death.  General  Wayne  forded  the  marsh,  at  the  head 
of  the  column  covered  at  the  time  with  two  feet  of  water.  The 
other  column  led  by  Butler  and  Murfree  crossed  an  apology  for 
a  bridge.  During  the  advance  both  columns  were  discovered 
by  the  British  sentinels  and  the  rocky  defense  literally  blazed 
with  musketry.  In  stern  silence,  however,  w^ithout  faltering 
or  firing  a  single  shot,  the  American  columns  moved  forward, 
entered  the  abatis,  until  the  advance  guard  under  Anthony 
Wayne  were  within  the  enemy's  works.  A  bullet  at  this  mo- 
ment struck  Wayne  in  the  forehead  grazing  his  skull.  Quickly 
recovering  from  the  shock  he  rose  to  his  knees,  shouted  "For- 
ward my  brave  fellows : "  then  turning  to  two  of  his  followers, 
he  asked  them  to  help  him  into  the  fort  that  he  might  die,  if  it 
were  to  be  so,  "in  possession  of  the  spot."  Both  columns  were 
now  at  hand  and  inspired  by  the  brave  General,  came  pouring 
in,  crying  "  The  Fort's  our  own."  The  British  troops  completely 
overwhelmed,  were  fain  to  surrender  and  called  for  mercy. 
Wayne's  characteristic  message  to  Washington  antedates  mod- 
ern telegraphic  brevity: — "Stony  Point,  2  o'clock  a.  m.  The 
American  flag  waves  here:  Mad  Anthony."  There  were  twenty 
killed  and  sixty  wounded  on  each  side.  Some  five  hundred 
of  the  enemy  were  captured  and  about  sixty  escaped.  "Money 
rewards  and  medals  were  given  to  Wayne  and  the  leaders  in  the 
assault.     The    ordnance  and  stores  captured  were  appraised  at 


THE  HUDSON.  101 

over  $180,000  and  paid  by  Congress  in  cash,  which  was  dis- 
tributed among  the  troops  engaged,  and  there  was  universal 
rejoicing  *'  throughout  the  land.  Verplanck's  Point,  on  the  east 
bank  (now  full  of  brick-making  establishments  with  kilns  and 
drying  houses',  was  the  site  of  Fort  Lafayette.  It  was  here  that 
Baron  Steuben  drilled  the  soldiers  of  the  American  army.  Back 
from  Green  Cove  above  Verplanck's  Point  is  "Knickerbocker 
Lake."  This  is  the  nearest  spot  to  New  York  where  ice  is  cut 
on  the  Hudson,  provided  Rockland  Lake  is  not  taken  into  consid- 
eration. 

Tompkin's  Cove.— North  of  Stony  Point  we  see  great  quar- 
ries of  limestone,  the  principal  industry  of  the  village  of  Tomp- 
kin's  Cove.  Gravel  is  also  shipped  from  this  place  for  Central 
Park  roads  and  driveways  in  New  York  City.  The  tourist,  look- 
ing north  from  the  forward  deck  of  the  steamer,  sees  no  opening 
in  the  mountains,  and  it  is  amusing  to  hear  the  various  conjec- 
tures of  the  passengers  :  as  usual,  the  "  unexpected"  happens, 
and  we  sweep  at  once  into  the  grand  scenery  of  the  Highlands. 
The  straight  forward  course,  which  seems  the  more  natural, 
would  land  the  steamer  against  the  Hudson  River  Railroad,  cross- 
ing the  Peekskill  River.  It  is  said  that  an  old  skipper,  Jans 
Peek,  ran  up  this  stream,  years  before  the  railroad  was  built, 
and  did  not  know  that  he  had  left  the  Hudson,  or  rather  that  the 
Hudson  was  "on  the  left"  until  he  ran  aground  in  the  shoal 
water  of  the  bay.  The  next  morning  he  discovered  that  it  was 
a  goodly  land,  and  the  place  bears  his  name  unto  this  day. 

Peekskill,  (forty  miles  from  New  York,  population  9676),  is  a 
pleasant  village  on  the  quiet  bay  which  deeply  indents  the  east- 
ern bank.     The  property  in  this  vicinity  was  known  as  Rycks 


102  THE  HUDSON. 

Patent  in  1665.  In  Revolutionary  times  Fort  Independence  stood 
on  the  point  above,  where  its  ruins  are  still  seen.  The  Francis- 
can Convent  Academy  of  "Our  Lady  of  Ano-els,"  guards  the 
point  below.  In  1797  Peekskill  was  the  headquarters  of  old 
Israel  Putnam,  who  rivaled  "  Mad  Anthony  "  in  brevity  as  well 
as  courage.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Palmer  was  here  cap- 
tured as  a  spy.  A  British  officer  wrote  a  letter  asking  his  re- 
prieve, to  which  Putnam  replied,  "  Nathan  Palmer  was  taken  as 
a  spy,  tried  as  a  spy  and  will  be  hanged  as  a  spy.  P.  S. — He 
is  hanged."  This  was  the  birthplace  of  Paulding,  one  of  Andre's 
captors, and  he  died  here  in  1818.  He  is  buried  in  the  old  rural 
cemetery  about  two  miles  and  a  half  from  the  village,  and  a 
monument  has  been  erected  to  his  memory.  Near  at  hand  is  the 
"  Wayside  Inn,"  where  Andre  once  "tarried,"  also  the  Hill- 
side Cemetery,  where  on  June  19,  1898,  the  123d  anniversary  of 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  a  monument  was  unveiled  to  General 
Pomeroy  by  the  Society  of  the  Sons  of  Revolution,  New  York. 
The  church  which  Washington  attended  is  in  good  preservation. 
Near  Peekskiil  is  the  old  Van  Cortlandt  house,  the  residence 
of  Washington  for  a  short  time  during  the  Revolution.  East  of 
the  village  w^as  the  summer  home  of  the  great  pulpit  orator, 
Henry  Ward  Beecher,  and  Peekskill  is  also  known  far  and  wide 
as  the  birthplace  and  many-storied  shrine  of  that  sunny-prismed 
genius,  orator  and  wit,  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  President  of  the 
New  York  Central  liaihvad.  Suburban  trains  give  hourly  commu- 
nication with  New  York,  and  the  well  known  Steamer  "  Chryste- 
nah  "  makes  daily  pilgrimages  to  the  metropolis.  Peekskill  was 
known  by  the  Indians  as  Sackhoes,  in  the  territory  of  the  Kitch- 
awongs  which  extended  from  Crotoii  River  to  Anthony's  Nose. 


THE  HUDSON.  105 

Turning-  Caldwell's  Landing  or  Jones'  Point,  formerly  known 
as  Kidd"s  Point,  almost  at  right  angles,  the  steamer  enters  the 
southern  gate  of  the  Highlands.  At  the  water  edge  will  be 
seen  some  upright  planks  or  caissons  marking  the  spot  where 
Kidd's  ship  was  supposed  to  have  been  scuttled.  As  his  history 
seems  to  be  intimately  associated  with  the  Hudson,  we  will  give 
it  in  brief : 

Tlie  Story  of  Captain  Kidd.— "  My  name  was  Captain  Kidd 
as  I  sailed,"  are  famous  lines  of  an  old  ballad  which  was  once 
familiar  to  our  grandfathers.  The  hapless  hero  of  the  same 
was  born  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  it  is 
thought,  near  Greenock,  Scotland.  He  resided  at  one  time  in 
New  York,  near  the  corner  of  William  and  Cedar  Streets,  and 
was  there  married.  In  April,  1690,  he  sailed  from  England  in 
command  of  the  "  Adventure  Galley,"  with  full  armament  and 
eighty  men.  He  captured  a  Prench  ship,  and,  on  arrival  at 
New  York,  put  up  articles  for  volunteers ;  remained  in  New 
York  three  or  four  months,  increasing  his  crew  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty-five  men,  and  sailed  thence  to  Madras,  thence  to  Bona- 
vista  and  St.  Jago,  Madagascar,  then  to  Calicut,  then  to  Mada- 
gascar again,  then  sailed  and  took  the  '"Quedah  Merchant." 
Kidd  kept  forty  shares  of  the  spoils,  and  divided  the  rest  with 
his  crew.  He  then  burned  the  "Adventure  Galley,"  went  on 
board  the  ''  Quedah  Merchant,"  and  steered  for  the  West  Indies. 
Here  he  left  the  '"  Merchant,"  with  part  of  his  crew,  under  one 
Bolton,  as  commander.  Then  manned  a  sloop,  and  taking  part 
of  his  spoils,  went  to  Boston  via  Long  Island  Sound,  and  is  said 
to  have  set  goods  on  shore  at  different  places.  In  the  mean 
time,  in  August,  1698,  the  East  Indian  Company  informed  the 


106  THE  HUDSON. 

Lords  Justice  that  Kidd  had  committed  several  acts  of  piracy, 
particularly  in  seizing  a  Moor's  ship  called  the  "  Quedah  Mer- 
chant." When  Kidd  landed  at  Boston  he  was  therefore  arrested 
by  the  Earl  of  Bellamont,  and  sent  to  England  for  trial,  1699, 
where  he  was  found  guilty  and  executed.  Now  it  is  supposed 
that  the  crew  of  the  "Quedah  Merchant,"  which  Kidd  left  at 
Hispaniola,  sailed  for  their  homes,  as  the  crew  was  mostly 
gathered  from  the  Highlands  and  above.  It  is  said  that  they 
passed  New  York  in  the  night,  en  route  to  the  manor  of  Living- 
ston ;  but  encountering  a  gale  in  the  Highlands,  and  thinking 
they  were  pursued,  ran  her  near  the  shore,  now  known  as  Kidd's 
Point,  and  here  scuttled  her,  the  crew  fleeing  to  the  woods  with 
such  treasure  as  they  could  carry.  Whether  this  circumstance 
was  true  or  not,  it  was  at  least  a  current  story  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  an  enterprising  individual,  about  fifty  years  ago, 
caused  an  old  cannon  to  be  "  discovered  "  in  the  river,  and  perpe- 
trated the  first  "Cardiff  Giant  Hoax."  A  New  York  Stock 
Company  was  organized  to  .prosecute  the  work.  It  was  said  that 
the  ship  could  be  seen  in  clear  days,  with  her  masts  still  stand- 
ing, many  fathoms  below  the  surface.  One  thing  is  certain — 
the  Company  did  not  see  it  or  the  treasurer  either,  in  whose 
hands  were  deposited  about  $30,000. 
On  the  west  shore  r^se  the  rock-beaten  crags  of— 
Tlie  Dunderberg,  the  dread  of  the  Dutch  mariners.  This 
hill,  according  to  irving,  was  peopled  with  a  multitude  of  imps, 
too  great  for  man  to  number,  who  wore  sugar-loaf  hats  and  short 
doublets,  and  had  a  picturesque  way  of  "tumbling  head  over 
heels  in  the  rack  and  mist."  They  were  especially  malignant 
toward  all  captains    who    failed   to  do    them    reverence,    and 


THE  HUDSON.  107 

brought  down  frightful  squalls  on  such  craft  as  failed  to  drop 
the  peaks  of  their  mainsails  to  the  goblin  who  presided  over  this 
shadowy  republic.  It  was  the  dread  of  the  early  navigators — in 
fact,  the  Olympus  of  Dutch  mythology.  Verditege  Hook,  the 
Dunderberg,  and  the  Overs^au^h,  were  names  of  terror  to  even 
the  bravest  skipper.  The  old  burghers  of  New  York  never 
thought  of  making  their  week's  voyage  to  Albany  without  ar- 
ranging their  wills,  and  it  created  as  much  commotion  in  New 
Amsterdam  as  a  modern  expedition  to  the  north  pole.  Dunder- 
berg,  in  most  of  the  Hudson  Guides  and  Maps,  is  put  down  as 
1,098  feet,  but  its  actual  altitude  by  the  latest  United  States 
Geological  Survey  is  865  feet. 

The  State  National  Guard  Encampment  crowns  a  bluflf,  for- 
merly known  as  Roa  Hook,  on  the  east  bank,  north  of  Peekskill 
Bay,  a  happy  location  in  the  midst  of  history  and  beauty.  Every 
regiment  in  the  State  rallies  here  in  turn  during  the  summer 
months  for  instruction  in  the  military  art,  living  in  tents  and 
enjoying  life  in  true  army  style.  Visitors  are  cordially  greeted 
at  proper  hours,  and  the  camp  is  easily  reached  by  ferry  from 
Peekskill.  A  ferry  also  runs  from  Peekskill  to  Dunderberg,  af- 
fording a  hillside  outing  and  a  delightful  view.  It  is  expected 
that  a  spiral  railroad,  fourteen  miles  in  length,  undertaken  by  a 
recently  organized  corporation,  but  abandoned  for  the  present, 
will  make  the  spot  a  great  Hudson  River  resort.  The  plan  also 
embraces  a  palatial  hotel  on  the  summit  and  pleasure  grounds 
upon  the  Point  at  its  base.  Passing  Manito  Mountain  on  our 
right  the  steamer  approaches 

Antbony's  Nose,  a  prominent  feature  of  the  Hudson. 
Strangely  enough  the  altitude  of  the  mountains  at  the  southern 


108 


THE  HUDSON. 


portal  of  the  Highlands  has  been  greatly  overrated.  The  for- 
merly accepted  height  of  Anthony's  Nose  has  been  reduced  by 
the  Geological  Survey  from  1,228  feet  to  900.  It  has,  however, 
an  illustrious  christening,  and  according  to  various  historians 


ANTHONY'S  NOSE,   (FROM  THE  SOUTH). 

several  godfathers.  One  says  it  was  named  after  St.  Anthony 
the  Great,  the  first  institutor  of  monastic  life,  born  A.  D.  251, 
at  Coma,  in  Heraclea,  a  town  in  Upper  Egypt.  Irving's  humor- 
ous account  is,  however,  quite  as  probable  that  it  was  derived 
fro'n  tli<^  ii()s(^  of  Anthony  A'an  ( 'orlear,  the  illnstrion  ;  truniju^ter 


THE  HUDSON.  109 

of  Peter  Stuyvesant.  "  Now  thus  it  happened  that  bright  and 
early  in  the  morning-  the  good  Anthony,  having  washed  his 
burly  visage,  was  leaning  over  the  quarter-railing  of  the  galley, 
contemplating  it  in  the  glassy  waves  below.  Just  at  this  moment 
the  illustrious  sun,  breaking  in  all  his  splendor  from  behind  a 
high  bluff  of  the  Highlands,  did  dart  one  of  his  most  potent 
beams  full  upon  the  refulgent  nose  of  the  sounder  of  brass,  the 
reflection  of  which  shot  straightway  down  hissing  hot  into  the 
water,  and  killed  a  mighty  sturgeon  that  was  sporting  beside 
the  vessel.  When  this  astonishing  miracle  was  made  known  to 
the  Governor,  and  he  tasted  of  the  unknown  fish,  he  marveled 
exceedingly  ;  and,  as  a  monument  thereof,  he  gave  the  name  of 
Anthony's  Nose  to  a  stout  promontory  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
it  has  continued  to  be  called  Anthony's  Nose  ever  since."  It 
was  called  by  the  Indians  "  Kittatenny,"'  a  Delaware  term,  signi- 
fying "  endless  hills."  The  stream  flowing  into  the  river  south 
of  Anthony's  Nose  is  known  as  the  Brocken  Kill,  broken  into 
beautiful  cascades  from  mountain  source  to  mouth. 

lona  Island,  with  its  grapery  and  pleasant  picnic  grounds, 
is  near  the  west  bank,  opposite  Anthony's  Nose ;  and  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  island,  on  the  main  land,  was  the  village  or 
cross-roads  of  Doodletown.  This  reach  of  the  river  was  form- 
erly known  as  The  Horse  Race,  from  the  rapid  flow  of  the  tide 
when  at  its  height.  The  hills  on  the  west  bank  now  recede 
from  the  river,  forming  a  picturesque  amphitheatre,  bounded  on 
the  west  by  Bear  Mountain.  An  old  road  directly  in  the  rear  of 
lona  Island,  better  known  to  Anthony  Wayne  than  to  the 
modern  tourist,  passes  through  Doodletown,  over  Dunderbe'rg, 
just  west  of  Tompkin's  Cove,  to  Haverstraw.     Here  amid  these 


110 


THE  HUDSON. 


pleasant  foothills  Morse  laid  the  scene  of  a  historical  romance, 
which  he  however  happily  abandoned  for  a  wider  invention. 
The  world  can  g-et  along-  without  the  novel,  but  it  would  be  a 
trifle  slow  without  the  telegraph.  On  the  west  bank,  directly 
opposite  the  railroad  tunnel  which  puts  a  merry  "ring"  into 
the  tip  of  Anthony's  Nose,  is  what  is  now  known  as  Highland 
Lake,  called  by  the  Indians  Sinnipink,  and  by  the  immediate 
descendants  of  our  Revolutionary  fathers  "Hessian  Lake"  or 
"  Bloody  Pond,"  from  the  fact  that  an  American  company  had  a 
severe  struggle  here  with  the  British,  and  after  the  capture  of 
Fort  Montgomery  their  bodies  were  thrown  into  the  lake. 

The  capture  of  Fort  Clinton  and  Fort  Montgomery  was  two 
years  before  Mad  Anthony's  successful  assault  on  Stony  Point. 
Early  in  the  history  of  the  Revolution,  the  British  Government 
thought  that  it  would  be  possible  to  cut  off  the  eastern  from  the 
middle  and  southern  colonies  by  capturing  and  garrisoning  com- 
manding pomts  along  the  Hudson  and  Lake  Champlain.  It  was 
therefore  decided  in  London,  in  the  spring  of  1777,  to  have  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  approach  from  the  south  and  Burgoyne  from  the 
north.  Re-enforcements,  however,  arrived  late  from  England  and 
it  was  September  before  Clinton  transported  his  troops,  about 
4,000  in  number,  in  warships  and  flat-boats  up  the  river.  Gov- 
ernor George  Clinton  was  in  charge  of  Fort  Montgomery,  and  his 
brother  James  of  Fort  Clinton,  while  General  Putnam,  with 
about  2,000  men,  had  his  headquarters  at  Peekskill.  In  addition 
to  these  forts,  a  chain  was  stretched  across  the  Hudson  from 
Anthony's  Nose  to  a  point  near  the  present  railroad  bridge,  to 
obstruct  the  British  fleet.  General  Putnam,  however,  became 
convinced  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton  proposed  to  attack  Fort  In- 


THE  HUDSON.  Ill 

dependence.  Most  of  the  troops  were  according-ly  withdrawn 
from  Forts  Montgomery  and  Clinton,  when  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
taking  advantage  of  a  morning  fog,  crossed  with  2,000  men  at 
King's  Ferry.  Guided  by  a  sympathizer  of  the  British  cause, 
who  knew  the  district,  he  crossed  the  Dunderberg  Mountain  by 
the  road  just  indicated.  One  division  of  900  moving  on  Fort 
Montgomery,  and  another  of  1,100  on  Fort  Clinton.  Governor 
Clinton  in  the  meantime  ordered  400  soldiers  to  Fort  Mont- 
gomery, and  his  reconoitering  party,  met  by  the  Hessians^  fell 
back  upon  the  fort,  fighting  as  it  retreated.  Governor  Clinton 
sent  to  General  Putnam  for  re-enforcements,  but  it  is  said  that 
the  messenger  deserted,  so  that  Putnam  literally  sat  waiting 
in  camp,  unconscious  of  the  enemy's  movements.  A  simultaneous 
attack  was  made  at  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  on  both  forts. 
Lossing  says  :  ''  The  garrisons  were  composed  mostly  of  un- 
trained militia.  They  behaved  nobly,  and  kept  up  the  defense 
vigorously,  against  a  greatly  superior  force  of  disciplined  and 
veteran  soldiers,  until  twilight,  when  they  were  overpowered, 
and  sought  safety  in  a  scattered  retreat  to  the  neighboring 
mountains.  Many  escaped,  but  a  considerable  number  were 
s^ain  or  made  prisoners.  The  Governor  fled  across  the  river  in 
a  boat,  and  at  midnight  was  with  General  Putnam  at  Continental 
Village,  concerting  measures  for  stopping  the  invasion.  James, 
forcing  his  way  to  the  rear,  across  the  highway  bridge,  received 
a  bayonet  wound  in  the  thigh,  but  safely  reached  his  home  at 
New  Windsor.  A  sloop  of  ten  guns,  the  frigate  Montgomery— 
twenty-four  guns — and  two  row-galleys,  stationed  near  the  boom 
and  chain  for  their  protection,  slipped  their  cables  and  attempted 
to  escape,  but  there  was  no  wind  to  fill  their  sails,  and  they 


112  THE  HUDSON. 

were  burned  by  the  Americans  to  prevent  their  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy.  The  frigate  Congress,  twenty-eight  guns, 
which  had  already  gone  up  the  river,  shared  the  same  fate  on 
the  flats  near  Fort  Constitution,  which  was  abandoned.  By  the 
light  of  the  burning  vessels  the  fugitive  garrisons  made  their 
way  over  the  rugged  mountains,  and  a  large  portion  of  them 
joined  General  Clinton  at  New  Windsor  the  next  day.  They  had 
left  many  of  their  brave  companions  behind,  who,  to  the  number 
of  250,  had  been  slain  or  taken  prisoners.  The  British,  too,  had 
parted  with  many  men  and  brave  officers.  Among  the  latter 
was  Lieut.  Col.  Campbell.  Early  in  the  morning  of  the  7th  of 
October,  the  river  obstructions  between  Fort  Montgomery  and 
Anthony's  Nose,  which  cost  the  Americans  $250,000,  were  de- 
stroyed, and  a  light  flying  squadron,  commanded  by  Sir  James 
Wallace,  and  bearing  a  large  number  of  land  troops  under 
General  Vaughan,  sailed  up  the  river  on  a  marauding  expe- 
dition, with  instructions  from  Sir  Henry  to  scatter  desolation  in 
their  paths.  It  was  hoped  that  such  an  expedition  would  draw 
troops  from  the  Northern  army  for  the  protection  of  the  country 
below,  and  thereby  assist  Burgoyne." 

Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  had  been  advised  by  General  Burgoyne 
that  he  must  be  relieved  by  October  12th,  sent  a  messenger  an- 
nouncing his  victory.  Another  of  the  many  special  providences 
of  the  American  Revolution  now  occurs.  The  messenger  blun- 
dered into  the  American  camp,  where  some  soldiers  sat  in  Brit- 
ish uniform,  and  found  out  too  late  that  he  was  among  enemies 
instead  of  friends.  As  Irving  relates  the  incident  in  his  Life  of 
Washington  :— ''  On  the  9th  (October)  two  persons  coming  from 
Fort  Montgomery  were  arrested  by  the  guard,  and  brought  for 


THE  HUDSON.  113 

examination.  One  was  much  agitated,  and  was  observed  to  put 
something  hastily  into  his  mouth  and  swallow  it.  An  emetic 
was  administered,  and  brought  up  a  silver  bullet.  Before  he 
could  be  prevented  he  swallowed  it  again.  On  his  refusing  a 
second  emetic,  the  Governor  threatened  to  have  him  hanged  and 
his  body  opened.  This  threat  was  effectual  and  the  bullet  was 
again  '  brought  to  light '  in  the  preceding  manner.  It  was  oval  in 
form,  and  hollow,  with  a  screw  in  the  centre,  and  contained  a 
note  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton  to  Burgoyne,  written  on  a  slip  of 
thin  paper,  and  dated  October  8th,  from  Fort  Montgomery; 
'^Noiis  y  void  (here  we  are),  and  nothing  between  us  and  Gates. 
I  sincerely  hope  this  little  success  of  ours  will  facilitate  your 
operations.'  "  Burgoyne  never  received  it,  and  on  October  13th, 
after  the  battles  of  Bennington  and  Saratoga,  surrendered  to 
General  Gates.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  abandoned  the  forts  on  hear- 
ing of  his  defeat,  and  returned  to  New  York  "  a  sadder  and 
wiser  man." 

Beverley  House. — Passing  Cohn's  Hook,  pronounced  Conno- 
sook,  where  Hendrich  Hudson  anchored  on  his  way  up  the  river 
September  14,  1609,  we  see  before  us  on  the  right  bank  a  point 
coming  down  to  the  shore  marked  by  a  boat  house.  This  is 
Beverley  Dock,  and  directly  up  the  river  bank  about  an  eighth 
of  a  mile  stood  the  old  Beverley  House,  where  Benedict  Arnold 
had  his  headquarters  when  in  command  of  West  Point.  The 
old  house,  a  good  specimen  of  colonial  times,  was  unfortunately 
burned  in  1892,  and  with  it  went  the  most  picturesque  landmark 
of  the  most  dramatic  incident  of  the  Revolution.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  Arnold  returned  to  the  Beverley  House  after  his 
midnight  interview  with  Andre  at  Haverstraw,  and  immediately 


114 


THE  HUDSON. 


upon  the  capture  of  Andre  the  following  day,  that  Colonel  Jami- 
son sent  a  letter  to  Arnold,  advising  him  of  the  fact.     It  was  the 
morning-  of  September  4th.     General  Washing-ton  was  on   his 
way  to  West  Point,  coming-  across  the  country  from  Connecticut. 
On  arriving,  however,  at  the  river,  just  above  the  present  sta- 
tion of  Garrisons,  he  became  interested  in  examining  some  de- 
fenses, and  sent  Alexander  Hamilton  forward  to  the  Beverley 
House,  saying  that  he  would  come  later,  requesting  the  family 
to  proceed  with  their  breakfast  and  not  to  await  his  arrival. 
Alexander  Hamilton  and  General  Lafayette  sat  gayly  chatting 
with  Mrs.  Arnold  and  her  husband  when  the  letter  from  Jamison 
was  received.     Arnold  glanced  at  the  contents,  rose  and  excused 
himself  from  the  table,  beckoning  to  his  wife  to  follow  him,  bade 
her  good-bye,  told  her  he  was  a  ruined  man  and  a  traitor,  kissed 
his  little  boy  in  the  cradle,  rode  to  Beverley  Dock,  and  ordered 
his  men  to  pull  off  and  go  down  the  river.     The   '"Vulture," 
an  English  man-of-war,  was  near  Teller's  Point,  and  received  a 
traitor,   whose  miserable  treachery  branded  him  with  eternal 
infamy  in    both    continents.     It    is    said    that    he    lived    long 
enough    to    be    hissed     in    the     House     of    Commons,    as    he 
once  took  his  seat  in  the  gallery,  and  he  died  friendless,  and 
despised.     It  is  also  said,  when  Talleyrand  arrived  in  Havre  on 
foot  from  Paris,  in  the  darkest  hour  of  the  French  Revolution, 
pursued  by  the  bloodhounds  of  the   reign  of  terror,  and   was 
about  to  secure  a  passage  to  the  United  States,  he  asked  the 
landlord  of  the  hotel  whether  any  Americans  were  staying  at 
his  Louse,  as  he  was  going  across  the  water,  and   would  like  a 
letter  to  a  i)erson  of  influenc'e  in  the  New  World.     "There  is  a 
gentleman  up-stairs  from  Britain  or  America,"  was  the  response. 


THE  HUDSON.  115 

He  pointed  the  way,  and  Talleyrand  ascended  the  stairs.  In  a 
dimly  lig-hted  room  sat  the  man  of  whom  the  great  minister  of 
France  was  to  ask  a  favor.  He  advanced,  and  poured  forth  in 
elegant  French  and  broken  English,  "I  am  a  wanderer,  and  an 
exile.  I  am  forced  to  fly  to  the  New  World  without  a  friend  or 
home.  You  are  an  American.  Give  me,  then,  I  beseech  you,  a 
letter  of  yours,  so  that  I  may  be  able  to  earn  my  bread."  The 
strange  gentleman  rose.  With  a  look  that  Talleyrand  never 
forgot,  he  retreated  toward  the  door  of  the  next  chamber.  He 
spoke  as  he  retreated,  and  his  voice  was  full  of  suffering:  "I 
am  the  only  man  of  the  New  World  who  can  raise  his  hand  to 
God  and  say,  'I  have  not  a  friend,  not  one,  in  America!'" 
"Who  are  you?"  he  cried — "your  name?"  ''My  name  is 
Benedict  Arnold  I  " 

Andre's  fate  on  the  other  hand  was  widely  lamented.  He  was 
universally  beloved  by  his  comrades  and  possessed  a  rich  fund 
of  humor  which  often  bubbled  over  in  verse.  It  is  a  strange  co- 
incidence that  his  best  poetic  attempt  on  one  of  Anthony 
Wayne's  exploits  near  Fort  Lee  closed  with  a  graphically  pro- 
phetic verse : 

"  And  now  I've  closed  my  epic  strain, 
I  tremble  as  I  show  it, 
Lest  this  same  Warrior-Drover  Wayne 
Should  ever  catch  the  poet." 

By  a  singular  coincidence  he  did :  General  Wayne  was  in 
command  of  the  Tarrytown  and  Tappan  country  where  Andre 
was  captured  and  executed.  It  is  also  said  that  these  lines 
were  published  by  one  of  the  Tory  papers  in  New  York  the  very 
day  of  Andre's  capture.     One  of  the  old-time  characters  on  the 


U6  THE  HUDSON. 

Hudson,  known  as  Uncle  Richard,  has  recently  thrown  new 
light  on  the  capture  of  Andre  by  claiming-,  with  a  touch  of  genu- 
ine humor,  that  it  was  entirely  due  to  the  '' effects '"  of  cider 
which  had  been  freely  "  dispensed  "  that  day  by  a  certain  Mr. 
Horton,  a  farmer  in  the  neighborhood. 

It  is  impossible  even  in  these  later  years,  not  to  speak  of 
twenty-five  or  fifty  years  ago,  to  travel  along  the  shores  of 
Haverstraw  Bay  or  among  the  passes  of  the  Highlands,  without 
hearing  some  old-time  stories  about  Arnold  and  Andre,  and  it 
would  be  strange  indeed  if  a  little  romance  had  not  here  and 
there  become  blended  with  the  real  facts.  Uncle  Richard's  ac- 
count is  undoubtedly  the  best  since  the  days  of  Knickerbocker. 
"Benedict  Arnold,  you  know,  had  command  of  West  Point,  and 
he  knew  that  the  place  was  essential  to  the  success  of  the  Con- 
tinental cause.  He  plotted,  as  everybody  knows,  to  turn  it  over 
to  the  enemy,  and  in  the  correspondence  which  he  carried  on 
with  General  Clinton,  young  Andre,  Clinton's  aid,  did  all  the 
writing.  Things  were  coming  to  a  focus,  when  a  meeting  took 
place  between  Arnold  and  Clinton's  representative,  Andre,  at 
the  house  of  Joshua  Hett  Smith,  near  Haverstraw.  Andre 
came  on  the  British  ship  Vulture,  which  he  left  at  Croton  Point, 
in  Haverstraw  Bay.  Well,"  so  runs  Uncle  Richard's  story,  "  it 
took  a  long  time  to  get  matters  settled;  they  'confabbed'  till 
after  daybreak.  Then  Arnold  started  back  to  the  post  which 
he  had  plotted  to  surrender.  But  daylight  was  no  time  for 
Andre  to  return  to  the  Vulture,  so  he  hung  round  waiting  for 
night. 

"  During  that  day,  some  men  who  were  working  for  James 
Horton,   a    farmer   on    the   ridge   overlooking  the   river,    who 


THE  HUDSON.  117 

gave  his  men  good  rations  of  cider,  drank  a  little  too  much  of 
the  hard  stuff.  They  felt  good,  and  thought  it  would  be  a  fine 
joke  to  load  and  fire  off  an  old  disabled  cannon  which  lay  a  mile 
or  so  away  on  the  bank.  They  hauled  it  to  the  point  now  called 
Cockroft  Point,  propped  it  up,  and  then  the  spirit  of  fun — and 
hard  cider — prompted  them  to  train  the  old  piece  on  the  British 
ship  Vulture,  lying  at  anchor  in  the  Bay.  The  Vulture's  peo- 
ple must  have  overestimated  the  source  of  the  fire,  for  the  ship 
dropped  down  the  river,  and  Andre  had  to  abandon  the  idea  of 
returning  by  that  means.  He  crossed  the  river  at  King's  Ferry, 
and  while  on  his  way  overland  was  captured  at  Tarrytown. 

'•Of  course,  the  three  brave  men  who  refused  to  be  bribed 
deserve  all  the  glory  they  ever  had  :  if  it  were  not  for  them,  who 
knows  but  the  revolutionary  war  would  have  had  a  different 
ending.  But  they  never  would  have  had  a  chance  to  capture 
Andre  if  it  had  not  been  for  James  Horton's  men  warming  up  on 
hard  cider.  Hard  cider  broke  the  plans  of  Arnold,  it  hung 
Andre,  and  it  saved  West  Point."  A  boy  misguided  Grouchy  en 
route  to  Waterloo.  On  what  small  hinges  turn  the  destinies  of 
nations  ! 

All  the  way  from  Anthony's  Nose  to  Beverley  Dock,  where  we 
have  been  lingering  over  the  story  of  Andre,  we  have  been  liter- 
ally turning  a  kaleidoscope  of  blended  history  and  beauty,  v/ith 
scarcely  time  to  note  the  delightful  homes  of  John  S.  Gilbert, 
on  the  left  bank,  just  above  Fort  Montgomery  ;  of  William  and 
Arthur  Pell  ;  of  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  Alfred  Pell,  Charles  Tra- 
cy, Captain  Roe,  "  Benny  Havens  "  and  John  Bigelow  ;  or  on  the 
east  bank,  the  residences  of  the  late  Hamilton  Fish  (seen  just 
above   Beverley  Dock)  ;   Col.   Arden,   H.  W.  Beecher,  Edward 


118  THE  HUDSON. 

Pierpont.  J.  M.  Toucey,  W.  Livingston  and  Samuel  Sloane,  some 
of  them  not  visible  from  the  deck  of  the  Day  Boats,  but  seen  by 
the  pedestrian  on  either  side  of  the  river.  The  bold  tower  oij 
the  right,  reminding  one  of  a  new  edition  of  the  spire  of  the 
Tr-ibune  Building,  is  the  home  of  William  H.  Osborn,  just  north 
of  Sugar  Loaf  Mountain  ;  the  mountain  being  so  named  as  it  re- 
sembles, to  one  coming-  up  the  river,  the  old-fashioned  conical- 
shaped  sugar-loaf,  which  was  formerly  suspended  by  a  string- 
over  the  centre  of  the  hospitable  Dutch  tables,  and  swung  around 
to  be  occasionally  nibbled  at,  which  in  good  old  Knickerbocker 
days,  was  thought  to  be  the  best  and  only  orthodox  way  of 
sweetening  tea. 

Buttermilk  Falls,  so  christened  by  Washington  Irving,  is 
a  pretty  little  cascade  on  the  west  bank.  Like  sparkling  wit,  it 
is  often  dry,  and  the  tourist  is  exceptionally  fortunate  who  sees 
it  in  full-dress  costume  after  a  heavy  shower,  when  it  rushes 
over  the  rocks  in  floods  of  snow-white  foam.  Highland  Falls  is 
the  name  of  a  small  village  a  short  distance  west  of  the  river,  on 
the  bluff,  but  not  seen  from  the  deck  of  the  steamer.  The  large 
hotel  north  of  the  falls  is  known  as  "  Cranston's,"  and  has  a  com- 
manding and  pleasant  site.  It  is,  however,  one  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  Parade  Ground— the  principal  attraction  of  West 
Point ;  and  the  visitor  who  has  only  a  few  days  at  his  command, 
will  perhaps  gather  more  information  by  locating  at  West  Point 
proper,  whose  well  constructed  dock  the  steamer  is  now  a[)- 
proaching. 

West  Point,  taken  all  in  all,  is  the  most  beautiful  tourist 
spot  on  the  Hudson.  Excursionists  by  the  Day  Boats  from  New 
York,  returning  by  afternoon  steamer,  have  three  hours  to  visit 


I 


THE  HUDSON.  H^ 

the  various  places  of  history  and  beauty.  To  make  an  easy 
mathematical  formula  or  picturesque  "  rule  of  three  "  statement, 
what  Quebec  is  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  West  Point  is  to  the  Hud- 
son. If  the  Citadel  of  Quebec  is  more  imposing-,  the  view  of  the 
Hudson  at  this  place  is  grander  than  that  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  the  ruins  of  Fort  Putnam  are  almost  as  venerable  as  the 
Heig-hts  of  Abraham.  The  sensation  of  the  visitor  is,  moreover, 
somewhat  the  same  in  both  places  as  to  the  environment  of  law 
and  authority.  To  g-et  the  daily  character  and  quality  of  West 
Point  one  should  spend  at  least  twenty-four  hours  within  it? 
borders,  and  a  good  hotel,  the  only  one  on  the  Govermnent 
grounds,  will  be  found  central  and  convenient  to  everything  of 
interest.  The  parade  and  drills  at  sunset  hour  can  only  be  seen 
in  this  way.  Carriages  and  omnibuses  meet  all  trains  and 
boats,  with  a  fixed  tariff  of  twenty-five  cents  for  each  passen- 
ger ;  twenty-five  cents  for  each  trunk  or  box ;  two  dollars  per 
hour  for  carriage,  or  after  the  first  hour  one  dollar  and  a  half. 
If  the  day  is  not  too  warm  and  the  passenger  is  without  baggage, 
it  is  a  pleasant  walk  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  Parade  Ground, 
or  of  about  half  a  mile  to  the  hotel. 

The  first  building  to  the  right,  to  one  ascending  from  the  land- 
ing, is  the  Riding- Hall,  completed  in  1885.  Here  the  cadet 
learns  cavalry  exercises,  "  enjoying  "  many  a  fall  which  would 
often  be  a  serious  matter  were  it  not  that  the  building  is  floored 
with  tan- bark.  To  the  rear  of  this  are  stables,  accommodating 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  horses.  The  path  or  roadway  leads 
one  onward  and  upward  to  Grant  Hall  or  Mess  Hall  where,  be- 
tween meal  hours,  can  be  seen  portraits  of  noted  generals  of  the 
Civil  War,     Beyond  this  is  the  Hospital,  the  Academic  Build- 


120 


THE  HUDSON. 


ing  and  the  Administration  Building,  headquarters  for  the  Post. 
Here  also  will  be  seen  the  Library,  crowned  with  a  dome,  the 
Chapel,  Gymnasium,  Recitation  Rooms,  etc. 

Near  tlie  Flag-staflf  a  fine  collection  of  old  cannon,  old 
chains,  old  shell,  and  the  famous  "swamp  angel"  gun,  used 
at  Charleston  in  '(U,  will  be  found.  Fort  Knox  was  just  above 
the  landing.  Near  the  river  bank  can  also  be  seen  Dade's 
Monument,  Kosciusko's  Garden,  and  Kosciusko's  Monument. 
Old  Fort  Clinton  was  located  on  the  plain,  near  the  monument ; 
and  far  above,  like  a  sentinel  left  at  his  post.  Fort  Putnam  looks 
down  upon  the  changes  of  a  hundred  years.  But  of  all  places 
around  West  Point,  Kosciusko's  Garden  seems  the  most  suggest- 
ive, connected  as  it  is  with  a  hero  not  only  of  his  own  country, 
but  with  a  man  ready  to  battle  for  free  institutions,  taking  up 
the  sublime  words  of  the  old  Roman  orator,  "Where  Liberty  is 
tliere  is  my  country."  A  beautiful  spring  will  be  found  near  the 
Garden,  and  the  indenture  of  a  cannon-ball  is  still  pointed  out  in 
the  rocks,  which  must  have  disturbed  the  patriot's  meditations. 

The  Chapel  was  completed  in  1836 ;  the  Library  in  1841  ;  Ca- 
det Mess  in  1852  ;  Cadet  Hospital  in  1881  ;  monument  to  General 
Thayer  in  1883 ;  Gymnasium  in  1891  ;  the  Battle  Monumeni, 
which  cost  about  $50,000,  surmounted  by  a  figure  of  Fame,  in 
1894,  "  Dedicated  to  the  memory  of  officers  and  enlisted  men  of 
the  regular  army  who  fell  during  the  Civil  War." 

The  United  States  Military  Academy.— Soon  after  the 
close  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  Washington  suggested  West 
Point  as  the  site  of  a  military  academy,  and,  in  1793,  in  his  an- 
nual message,  recommended  it  to  Congress,  which  in  1794  orga- 
nized a  corps  of  artillerists  to  be  here  stationed  with  thirty-two 


THE  HUDSON.  123 

cadets,  enlarg-ing  the  number  in  1798  to  fifty-six.  In  1808  it  was 
increased  to  one  hundred  and  fifty-six,  and  in  1812  to  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty.  Each  Congressman  has  the  appointment  of  one 
cadet,  supplemented  by  ten  appointed  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  These  cadets  are  members  of  the  regular  army, 
subject  to  its  regulations  for  eight  years,  viz  :  during  four  years 
of  study  and  four  years  after  graduating.  The  candidates  are 
examined  in  June,  each  year,  and  must  be  physically  sound  as 
well  as  mentallj'  qualified.  The  course  is  very  thorough,  es- 
pecially in  higher  mathematics.  The  Cadets  go  into  camp  in 
July  and  August,  and  this  is  the  pleasantest  time  to  visit  the 
Point. 

Among  memorials  of  historical  interest  to  be  seen  by  the  visi- 
tor are  captured  Battle  Flags,  in  the  Chapel  Building,  which 
were  surrendered  by  Lord  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown ;  also,  tro- 
phies of  the  Mexican  war,  and  tablets  containing  names  of 
prominent  American  officers  of  the  Revolution,  one  being  sig- 
nificantly left  blank,  silently  proclaiming  the  eternal  infamy  of 
Arnold.  The  opposite  wall  presents  the  names  of  generals  of 
the  Mexican  War.  Fort  Clinton  will  especially  interest  the 
visitor,  as  it  is  one  of  the  old  Revolutionary  forts,  "  enlarged  for 
the  instruction  of  the  cadets  in  practicing  military  engineering.*' 
As  Wakefield's  new  guide  to  the  Post  tells  us  : — "  It  contains  a 
large  number  of  guns,  captured  in  the  Civil  war,  including 
'  Whistling  Dick,'  taken  at  Vicksburg,  a  large  iron  gun  taken 
at  Charleston,  which  burst  and  killed  forty  men  ;  two  brass 
guns  from  Cedar  Creek,  marked  'Jeff  Davis,' and  '  Johnson  ;  * 
also  part  of  chain  which  was  used  to  block  the  passage  ot  vessels 
up  the  Tennessee  river." 


124  THE  HUDSON. 

West  Point  during  the  revolution  was  the  Gibraltar  of  the 
Hudson  and  her  forts  were  regarded  almost  impregnable.  Fort 
Putnam  should  be  rebuilt  as  an  enduring  monument  to  the 
bravery  of  American  soldiers.  Flirtation  Walk,  in  spite  of  its 
name,  is  interesting  even  to  the  most  prosaic  individual,  winding 
as  it  does  along  the  cliff,  from  Battle  Monument  past  Battery 
Knox  to  Kosciusko's  Garden,  from  which  point  a  flight  of  stone 
steps  lead  up  to  the  Parade  Ground,  near  the  Library.  The 
Battle  Monument,  constructed  of  g-ranite  and  bronze,  was  com- 
pleted in  1894.  The  shaft  is  41  feet  6  inches  high,  with  an 
average  diameter  of  six  feet,  surmounted  by  a  figure  of  Liberty, 
a  fitting  memorial  to  those  who  gave  their  lives  for  their 
country. 

The  best  way  to  study  West  Point,  however,  is  not  in  the  volu- 
minous or  even  condensed  pages  of  a  guide  book,  but  to  visit  it 
and  see  its  real  life,  to  wander  amid  these  old  associations,  and 
ask,  when  necessary,  intelligent  questions,  which  are  everywhere 
courteously  answered.  The  view  north  from  the  veranda  of  the 
West  Point  Hotel,  if  seen  in  a  summer  evening,  is  one  long  to  be 
remembered.  It  has  often  seemed  to  the  writer  of  this  hand-book 
that  the  mountains  here  are  like  the  leaves  of  an  open  volume, 
with  the  river  lying  between  them  for  a  book-nuii'k — as  indica- 
ted in  the  Highland  section  of  his  poem  "  The  Hudson:  " 

On  either  side  these  mountain  glens 

Lie  open  like  a  massive  book, 
Whose  words  were  graved  with  iron  pens, 

And  lead  into  the  eternal  rock: 

Which  evermore  shall  here  retain 

The  annals  time  cannot  erase, 
And  Tt7hile  these  granite  leaves  remain 

This  crystal  ribbon  niarl.s  the  place. 


THE  HUDSON.  127 


WEST  POINT  TO  NEWBURGH. 

The  steamer  sails  too  near  the  west  bank  to  give  a  view  of  the 
magnificent  plateau  with  Parade  Ground  and  Government 
Buildings,  but  on  rounding  the  Point  a  picture  of  marvelous 
beauty  breaks  at  once  upon  the  vision.  On  the  left  the  massive 
indented  ridge  of  Old  Cro"  Nest  and  Storm  King,  and  on  the 
right  Mount  Taurus,  or  Bull  Hill,  and  Break  Neck,  while  still 
further  beyond  toward  the  east  sweejjs  the  Fishkill  range,  senti- 
neled by  South  Beacon,  1,G25  feet  in  height,  from  whose  summit 
midnight  gleams  aroused  the  countryside  for  leagues  and  scores 
of  miles  in  those  seven  long  years  when  men  toiled  and  prayed 
for  freedom.  Close  at  hand  on  the  right  will  be  seen  Constitu- 
tion Island,  formerly  the  home  of  Miss  Susan  Warner,  who  died 
in  1885,  author  of  "  Queechy  "  and  the  "  Wide,  Wide  World." 
Here  the  ruins  of  the  old  fort  are  seen.  The  place  was  once 
called  Martalaer's  Rock  Island.  A  chain  was  stretched  across 
the  river  at  this  point  to  intercept  the  passage  of  boats  up  the 
Hudson,  but  proved  ineffectual,  like  the  one  at  Anthony's  Nose, 
as  1)he  impetus  of  the  boats  snapped  them  both  like  cords. 

Some  years  ago,  when  the  first  delegation  of  Apache  Indians 
was  brought  to  Washington  to  sign  a  treaty  of  peace,  the  In- 
dians were  taken  for  an  "  outing  "  up  the  Hudson,  by  General  O. 
O.  Howard  and  Dr.  Herman  Bendell,  Superintendent  of  Indian 
Affairs  for  Arizona.  It  is  said  that  they  noted  with  cold  indif- 
ference the  palaces  along  the  river  front:  "the  artistic  ter- 
races, the  well-kept,  sloping  lawns,  the  clipped  hedges  and  the 
ivy-grown  walls  made  no  impression  on  them,  but  when  the 


128  THE  HUDSON. 

magriificent  picture  of  the  Hudson  above  West  Point  revealed 
itself,  painted  by  the  rays  of  the  sinking  sun,  these  wild  men 
stood  erect,  raised  their  hands  hig-h  above  their  heads  and  ut- 
tered a  monosyllabic  expression  of  delight,  which  was  more  ex- 
pressive than  volumes  of  words.'' 

Sir  Robert  Temple  also  rises  into  rapture  over  the  northern 
Gate  of  the  Highlands.  ''One  of  the  fairest  spectacles  to  be 
seen  on  the  earth's  surface.  Not  on  any  other  river  or  strait — 
not  on  Ganges  or  Indus,  on  the  Dardanelles  or  the  Bosphorus, 
on  the  Danube  or  the  Rhine,  on  the  Neva  or  the  Nile — have  I 
ever  observed  so  fairy-like  a  scene  as  this  on  the  Hudson.  The 
only  water-view  to  rival  it  is  that  of  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  opposite 
Constantinoi)le." 

Most  people  who  visit  our  river,  naturally  desire  a  brilliant  sun- 
lit day  for  their  journey,  and  with  reason,  but  there  are  effects, 
in  fog  and  rain  and  driving  mist,  only  surpassed  amid  the  Kyles 
of  Bute,  in  Scotland.  The  traveler  is  fortunate,  who  sees  the 
Hudson  in  many  phases,  and  under  various  atmospheric  con- 
ditions. A  midnight  view  is  peculiarly  impressive  when  the 
mountain  spirits  of  Rodman  Drake  answer  to  the  call  of  his 
"Culprit  Pay." 

"  'Tis  the  middle  watch  of  a  summer  nipht, 
The  earth  is  dark,  but  the  heavens  are  bright, 
The  moon  looks  down  on  Old  Cro'  Nest— 
She  mellows  the  shade  on  his  shaggy  breast, 
And  seems  his  huge  grey  form  to  throw 
In  a  silver  cone  on  the  wave  below." 

It  is  said  that  the  "Culprit  Fay"  was  written  by  Drake  in 
three  days,  and  grew  out  of  a  discussion  which  took  place  in  a 


THE  HUDSON.  129 

stroll  through  this  part  of  the  Highlands  between  Irving,  Hal- 
leck,  Cooper  and  himself,  as  to  the  filling  of  a  new  country  with 
old-time  legends.  Drake  died  in  1820.  Halleck's  lines  to  his 
memory  are  among  the  sweetest  in  our  language.  It  is  said  that 
Halleck,  on  hearing  Drake  read  his  j^oem,  "  The  American 
Flag,"  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  in  a  semi-poetic  transport,  con- 
cluded the  lines  with  burning  words,  which  Drake  afterwards 
appended  : 

"  Forever  float  that  standard  sheet, 

Where  breathes  the  foe  but  falls  before  us, 
With  freedom's  soil  beneath  our  feet, 
And  Freedom's  banner  streaming  o'er  us." 
Just  opposite  Old  Cro"  Nest  is  the  village  of  Cold  Spring,  on 
the  east  bank,  which  receives  its  name  naturally  from  a  cold 
spring  in  the  vicinity  ;  and  it  is  interesting  to  remember  that 
the  famous  Parrott  guns  were  made  at  this  place,  and  many  im- 
plements of  warfare  daring  our  civil  strife.     The  foundry  was 
started  by  Gouverneur  Kemble  in  1828,  and  brought  into  wide 
renown  by  the  inventive  genius  of  Major  Parrott.    A  short  dis- 
tance north  of  the  village  is 

Undercliflf,  (built  by  John  C.  Hamilton,  son  of  Alexander 
Hamilton,  but  more  particularly  associated  with  the  memory  of 
the  poet.  Col.  Geo.  P.  Morris),  lies,  in  fact,  under  the  cliff  and 
shadow  of  Mount  Taurus,  and  has  a  fine  outlook  upon  the  river 
and  surrounding  mountains.  Standing  on  the  piazza,  we  see 
directly  in  front  of  us  Old  Cro'  Nest,  and  it  was  here  that  the 

poet  wrote  : 

"  Where  Hudson's  wave  o'er  silvery  sands 

Winds  through  the  hills  afar, 

Old  Cro'  Xest  like  a  monarch  stands 

Crowned  uith  a  single  star.''' 


130  THE  HUDSON. 

Few  writers  were  better  known  in  their  own  day  than  the  poet 
of  Undercliff,  who  wrote  "  My  Mother's  Bible,"  and  "  Woodman, 
Spare  that  Tree."  On  one  occasion,  when  Mr.  Russell  was  sing-- 
ing-  it  at  Boulogne,  an  old  gentleman  in  the  audience,  moved  by 
the  simple  and  touching  beauty  of  the  lines, 

*'  Forgive  the  foolish  tear, 
But  let  the  old  oak  stand,*' 

rose  and  said  :  "I  beg  your  pardon,  but  was  the  tree  really 
spared?  "  "It  was,"  answered  Mr.  Russell,  and  the  old  gentle- 
man resumed  his  seat,  amid  the  plaudits  of  the  whole  assembly. 

Truly 

"  Its  glory  and  renown 

Are  spread  o'er  land  and  sea." 

The  first  European  name  given  to  Storm  King  was  Klinkers- 
berg,  (so  called  by  Hendrich  Hudson,  from  its  glistening  and 
broken  rock).  It  was  styled  by  the  Dutch  "Butter  Hill,"  from 
its  shape,  and,  with  Sugar  Loaf  on  the  eastern  side  below  the 
Point,  helped  to  set  out  the  tea-table  for  the  Danderberg  gob- 
lins. It  was  christened  by  Willis,  "  Storm  King,"  and  may  well 
be  regarded  the  El  Capitan  of  the  Highlands.  Breakneck  is  op- 
posite, on  the  east  side,  where  St.  Anthony's  Face  was  blasted 
away.  In  this  mountain  solitude  there  was  a  shade  of  reason  in 
giving  that  solemn  countenance  of  stone  the  name  of  St.  An- 
thony, as  a  good  representative  of  monastic  life  ;  and,  by  a  qui^t 
sarcasm,  the  full-length  nose  below  was  probably  suggested. 

The  mountain  opposite  Cro'  Nest  is  "  Bull  Hill,"  or  more  clas- 
sically, "  Mt.  Taurus."  It  is  said  that  there  was  formerly  a  wild 
bull  in  these  mountains,  which  had  failed  to  win  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  the  inhabitants,  so  the  mountaineers  organized  a 


WASHINGTON'S  HEADQUARTERS,  NEWBURGH. 


THE  HUDSON.  133 

hunt  and  drove  him  over  the  hill,  whose  name  stands  a  monu- 
ment to  his  exit.  The  point  at  the  foot  of  '*  Mount  Taurus  "'  is 
known  as  "  Little  Stony  Point." 

The  Highlands  now  trend  off  to  the  northeast,  and  we  see 
North  Beacon,  or  Grand  Sachem  Mountain,  and  Old  Beacon 
about  half  a  mile  to  the  north.  The  mountains  were  relit  with 
beacon-fires  in  1883,  in  honor  of  the  centennials  of  Fishkill  and 
Newburgh,  and  were  plainly  seen  sixty  miles  distant. 

This  section  was  known  by  the  Indians  as  "  Wequehache,"'  or, 
"the  Hill  Country,*'  and  the  entire  range  was  called  by  the  In- 
dians "the  endless  hills,"  a  name  not  inappropriate  to  this 
mountain  bulwark.  As  i)ictured  in  our  '"'  Long  Drama,"  given 
at  the  Newburgh  Centennial  of  the  disbanding  of  the  American 

Army, 

That  ridge  along  our  eastern  coast| 

From  Carolina  to  the  Sound, 
Opposed  its  front  to  England's  host, 

And  heroes  at  each  pass  were  found. 

A  vast  primeval  palisade. 

With  bastions  bold  and  wooded  crest, 
A  bulwark  strong  by  nature  made 

To  guard  the  valley  of  the  west. 

Along  its  heights  the  beacons  gleamed, 

It  formed  the  nation's  battle-line. 
Firm  as  the  rocks  and  cliffs  where  dreamed 

The  soldier-seers  of  Palestine. 

It  was  also  believed  by  the  Indians  that,  in  ancient  days,  *'  be- 
fore the  Hudson  poured  its  waters  from  the  lakes,  the  Highlands 
formed  one  vast  prison,  within  whose  rocky  bosom  the  omnipo- 
tent M«,nitou  confined  the  rebellious  spirits  who  repined  at  his 


134  THE  HUDSON. 

control.  Here,  bound  in  adamantine  chains,  or  jammed  in  rifted 
pines,  or  crushed  by  ponderous  rocks,  they  groaned  for  many 
an  age.  At  length  the  conquering  Hudson,  in  its  career  toward 
the  ocean,  burst  open  their  prison-house,  rolling  its  tide  triumph- 
antly through  the  stupendous  ruins." 

PoUopel's  Island,  east  of  the  steamer's  route,  was  once  re- 
garded as  a  haunted  spot,  but  its  only  witches  are  said  to  be 
snakes  too  lively  to  be  enchanted.  In  old  times,  the  "  new 
hands  "  on  the  sloops  were  unceremoniously  dipped  at  this  place, 
so  as  to  be  proof-christened  against  the  goblins  of  the  High- 
lands. Here  also  another  useless  "  impediment"  was  put  across 
the  Hudson  in  1779,  a  chevaux-de-frise  with  iron-pointed  spikes 
thirty  feet  long,  hidden  under  water,  strongly  secured  by  cribs 
of  stone.  This,  however,  was  not  broken  and  would  probably 
have  done  effective  work  if  some  traitor  to  the  cause  had  not 
guided  the  British  captains  through  an  unprotected  passage. 

Corn  wall-on- tlie-Hudson.— This  locality  N.  P.  Willis 
selected  as  the  most  picturesque  point  on  the  Hudson.  The 
village  lies  in  a  lovely  valley,  which  Mr.  Beach  has  styled  in 
his  able  description,  as  "an  offshoot  of  the  Ramapo,  up  which 
the  storm-winds  of  the  ocean  drive,  laden  with  the  purest  and 
freshest  air."  Idlewild,  with  its  pleasant  glen  and  sunny  slope, 
has  a  beautiful  location  in  the  very  centre  of  this  charming  land- 
scape, and  is  one  of  the  points  to  be  visited. 

The  home  of  the  late  Rev.  E.  P.  Roe  is  also  near  at  hand^ 
whose  face  was  a  familiar  one  a  few  years  ago  on  the  Hudson 
River  Day  Boats.  Edward  W.  Bok's  frequently  quoted  and 
appreciative  article  in  one  of  the  Chicago  papers,  presents  this 
beautiful  section  in  the  briefest  compass. 


THE  HUDSON.  135 

''It  is  now  nearly  forty-five  years  ago  since  Nathaniel  P.  Wil- 
lis first  made  known  his  '  Idlewild '  retreat,  and  more  than 
twenty-five  years  have  passed  since  he  left  it  to  be  taken  to 
Mount  Auburn,  near  Boston.  The  '  Idlewild  '  of  to-day  is  still 
green  to  the  memory  of  the  poet.  Since  Willis'  death  the  place 
has  passed  in  turn  into  various  hands,  until  now  it  belongs  to  a 
wealthy  New  York  lawyer,  who  has  spent  thousands  of  dollars  on 
the  house  and  grounds.  The  old  house  still  stands,  and  here  and 
there  in  the  grounds  remains  a  suggestion  of  the  time  of  Willis. 
The  famous  pine-drive  leading  to  the  mansion,  along  which  the 
greatest  literary  lights  of  the  Knickerbocker  period  passed  dur- 
ing its  palmy  days,  still  remains  intact,  the  dense  growth  of  the 
trees  only  making  the  road  the  more  picturesque.  The  brook,  at 
which  Willis  often  sat,  still  runs  on  through  the  grounds  as  of 
yore.  In  the  house,  everything  is  remodeled  and  remodernized. 
The  room  from  whose  windows  Willis  was  wont  to  look  over  the 
Hudson,  and  where  he  did  most  of  his  charming  writing,  is  now 
a  bedchamber,  modern  in  its  every  appointment,  and  suggesting 
its  age  only  by  the  high  ceiling  and  curious  mantel.  Only  a  few 
city  blocks  from  '  Idlewild '  is  the  house  where  lived  E.  P.  Roe, 
the  author  of  so  many  popular  novels,  as  numerous,  almost,  in 
number  as  the  several  hundreds  of  thousands  of  circulation 
which  they  secured.  The  Roe  house  is  unoccupied,  and  has 
been  since  the  death  of  the  novelist.  For  a  time,  the  widow 
and  some  members  of  the  family  resided  there,  but  Mrs.  Roe 
now  lives  in  New  York,  and  the  Cornwall  place  is  for  sale. 
There  are  twenty-three  acres  to  it  in  all,  and,  save  what  was  oc- 
cupied by  the  house,  every  inch  of  ground  was  utilized  by  the 
novelist  in  his  hobby  for  fine  fruits  and  rare  flowers.    Now  noth- 


136  THE  HUDSON. 

ing  remains  of  the  beauty  once  so  characteristic  of  the  place. 
For  four  years  the  g^rounds  have  missed  the  care  of  their  creator. 
Where  once  were  the  novelist's  celebrated  strawberry  beds,  are 
now  only  grass  and  weeds.  Ever\- thing  is  grown  over,  only  a 
few  trees  remaining  as  evidence  that  the  grounds  were  ever 
known  for  their  cultivated  products.  A  large  board  sign  an- 
nounces the  fact  that  the  entire  place  is  for  sale."' 

Corn-wall  has  been  for  many  years  a  favorite  resort  of  the 
Hudson  Valley  and  her  roofs  shelter  in  the  summer  season  prob- 
ably six  thousand  people.  The  road  completed  in  18Tt),  from 
Cornwall  to  "West  Point,  is  too  steep  for  bicycling,  but  a  pedes- 
trian stroll  or  a  ride  in  a  well-springed  carriage  gives  one  a 
pleasant  acquaintance  with  the  wooded  Highlands.  It  passes 
over  the  plateau  of  Cro'  Nest  and  winds  down  the  Cornwall 
slope  of  Storm  King.  The  tourist  who  sees  Cro'  Xest  and  Storm 
King  only  from  the  river,  has  but  little  idea  of  their  extent. 
Cro'  Nest  plateau  is  about  one  thousand  feet  above  the  Parade 
Ground  of  West  Point,  and  overlooks  it  as  a  rocky  balcony. 
These  mountains,  with  their  wonderful  lake  system,  are,  in  fact, 
th3  "Central  Park''  of  the  Hudson.  Within  a  radius  of  ten 
miles  are  clustered  over  forty  lakes,  and  we  very  much  doubt  if 
one  person  in  a  thousand  ever  heard  of  them.  A  convenient 
map  giving  the  phj^sical  geography  of  this  section  would  be  of 
great  service  to  the  mountain  visitor.  The  Cornwall  pier,  built 
by  the  Xew  York,  Ontario  and  Western  Bailwad  in  1892  for  coal 
and  freight  purposes,  will  be  seen  on  our  left  near  the  Cornwall 
dock.  This  railroad  leaves  the  West  Shoix  at  this  point  and 
forms  a  pleasant  tourist  route  to  the  beautiful  inland  villages 
and  resorts  of  the  State. 


THE  HUDSON.  137 


NEWBURGH  TO  POUGHKEEPSIE. 

Newburgli,  (60  miles  from  New  York,  population  24,536). 
Approaching-  the  city  of  Newburg-h,  we  see  a  building-  of  roug-h 
stone,  one  story  high,  with  steep  roof — known  as  Washington's 
Headquarters.  For  several  years  prior  to,  and  during  the  Revo- 
lution, this  was  the  home  of  Jonathan  Hasbrouck,  known  far  and 
wide  for  business  integrity  and  loyalty  to  liberty.  This  house 
was  built  by  him,  apparently,  in  decades ;  the  oldest  part,  the 
north-east  corner,  in  1750;  the  south-east  corner,  in  1760,  and 
the  remaining  half  in  1770.  It  fronted  west  on  the  King's  high- 
way, now  known  as  Liberty  street,  with  a  garden  and  family 
burial  plot  to  the  east,  lying  between  the  house  and  the  river. 
It  was  restored  as  nearly  as  possible  to  its  original  character  on 
its  purchase  by  the  State  in  1849,  and  it  is  now  the  treasure- 
house  of  many  memories,  and  of  valuable  historic  relics.  A 
descriptive  catalogue,  prepared  for  the  trustees,  under  act  of 
May  11,  1874,  by  a  patient  and  careful  historian,  Dr.  E.  M.  Rut- 
tenber,  will  be  of  service  to  the  visitor  and  can  be  obtained  on 
the  grounds.  The  following  facts,  condensed  from  his  admirable 
historical  sketch,  arc  of  practical  interest  : 

"  Wasliington's  Headquarters,  or  the  Hasbrouck  house, 
is  situated  in  the  south-east  part  of  the  city,  constructed  of  rough 
stone,  one  story  high,  fifty-six  feet  front  by  forty-six  feet  in 
depth,  and  located  on  what  was  originally  Lot  No.  2,  of  the 
German  Patent,  with  title  vested  in  Heman  Schoneman,  a  native 
of  the   Palatinate  of  Germany,   who  sold,  in  1721,   to  James 


138  THE  HUDSON. 

Alexander,  who  subsequently  sold  to  Alexander  Golden  and 
Burger  Meynders,  by  whom  it  was  conveyed  to  Jonathan 
Hasbrouck,  the  grandson  of  Abraham  Hasbrouck,  one  of  the 
Hug-uenot  founders  of  New  Paltz.  He  was  a  man  of  marked 
character ;  of  fine  physique,  being-  six  feet  and  four  inches  in 
height ;  was  colonel  of  the  militia  of  the  district,  and  in  frequent 
service  in  guarding  the  passes  of  the  Highlands.  His  occupa- 
tion was  that  of  a  farmer,  a  miller,  and  a  merchant.  He  died 
in  1780.  The  first  town  meeting  for  the  Precinct  of  New  burgh 
was  held  here  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  April,  1763,  when  its  owner 
was  elected  supervisor.  Public  meetings  continued  to  be  held 
here  for  several  years.  During  the  early  part  of  the  Revolution, 
the  Committee  of  Safety,  of  the  Precinct,  assembled  here  ;  here 
military  companies  were  organized,  and  here  the  regiment 
which  Col.  Hasbrouck  commanded  assembled,  to  move  hence  to 
the  defence  of  the  Highland  forts. 

From  this  brief  outline,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  building  is 
singularly  associated  with  the  history  of  the  Old  as  well  as  of 
the  New  World  :  with  the  former  through  the  original  grantee 
of  the  land,  recalling  the  wars  which  devastated  the  Palatinate 
and  sent  its  inhabitants,  fugitive  and  penniless,  to  other  parts 
of  Europe  and  to  America;  through  his  successor  with  the 
Huguenots  of  France,  and,  through  the  public  meetings  which 
assembled  here,  and  especially  through  its  occupation  by  Wash- 
ington, with  the  struggle  for  American  Independence. 

In  the  spring  of  1782  Washington  made  this  building  his 
Headquarters,  and  remained  here  until  August  18th,  1783,  on 
the  morning  of  which  day  he  took  his  departure  from  Newburgh. 
At  this  place  he  passed  through  the  most  trying  period  of  the 


THE  HUDSON.  139 

Revolution :  the  year  of  inactivity  on  the  part  of  Congress,  of 
distress  throughout  the  country,  and  of  complaint  and  discon- 
tent in  the  army,  the  latter  at  one  time  bordering  on  revolt 
among  the  officers  and  soldiers. 

It  was  at  this  place,  on  the  22d  day  of  May,  1782,  that  Col. 
Nicola,  on  behalf  of  himself  and  others,  proposed  that  Wash- 
ington should  become  King,  for  the  "national  advantage,"  a 
proposal  that  was  received  by  Washington  with  "surprise  and 
astonishment,"  "viewed  with  aVjhorrence,"  and  "reprehended 
with  severity."  The  temptation  which  was  thus  repelled  by 
Washington,  had  its  origin  with  that  jjortion  of  the  officers  of 
the  army,  who,  while  giving  their  aid  heartily  to  secure  an  inde- 
pendent government,  nevertheless  believed  that  that  govern- 
ment should  be  a  monarchy.  The  rejection  of  the  proposition 
by  Washington  was  not  the  only  significant  result.  The  rank 
ahd  file  of  the  army  rose  up  against  it,  and  around  their  camp- 
fires  chanted  their  purpose  in  Billings'  song,  "No  King  but 
God!"  From  that  hour  a  Republic  became  the  only  possible 
form  of  government  for  the  enfranchised  Colonies. 

The  inattention  of  Congress  to  the  payment  of  the  army,  dur- 
ing the  succeeding  winter,  gave  rise  to  an  equally  important 
episode  in  the  history  of  the  war.  On  the  10th  of  March,  1783, 
the  first  of  the  famous  "  Newburgh  Letters"  was  issued,  in 
which,  by  implication  at  least,  the  army  was  advised  to  revolt. 
The  letter  was  followed  by  an  anonymous  manuscript  notice  for  a 
public  meeting  of  officers  on  the  succeeding  Tuesday.  Wash- 
ington was  equal  to  the  emergency.  He  expressed  his  disap- 
probation of  the  whole  proceeding,  and  with  great  wisdom,  re- 
quested the  field  officers,  with  one  commissioned  officer  from 


140  THE  HUDSON. 

each  company,  to  meet  on  the  Saturday  preceding-  the  time  ap- 
pointed by  the  anonymous  notice.  He  attended  t^is  meeting 
and  delivered  before  it  one  of  the  most  touching  and  effective 
addresses  on  record.  When  he  closed  his  remarks,  the  officers 
unanimously  resolved  **to  reject  with  disdain"  the  infamous 
proposition  contained  in  the  anonymous  address. 

The  meeting  of  officers  referred  to  was  held  at  the  New  Build- 
ing, or  "  Temple  "  as  it  was  called,  in  New  Windsor,  but  Wash- 
ington's address  was  written  at  his  Headquarters.  The  "  New- 
burgh  Letters,"  to  which  it  was  a  reply,  were  written  by  Major 
John  Armstrong,  Aid-de-Camp  to  General  Gates.  The  anony- 
mously called  meeting  was  not  held.  The  motives  of  its  projec- 
tors we  will  not  discuss ;  but  its  probable  effect,  had  it  been  suc- 
cessful, must  be  considered  in  connection  with  Washington's  en- 
comium of  the  result  of  the  meeting-  which  he  had  addressed : 
"Had  this  day  been  wanting,  the  world  had  never  known  the 
height  to  which  human  greatness  is  capable  of  attaining." 

Notice  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities  was  proclaimed  to  the 
army  April  19th,  1783.  It  was  received  with  great  rejoicings  by 
the  troops  at  Newburgh,  and  under  Washington's  order,  was  the 
occasion  of  an  appropriate  celebration.  In  the  evening,  signal 
Beacon  lights  proclaimed  the  joyous  news  to  the  surrounding 
country.  Thirteen  cannon  came  pealing  up  from  Fort  Putnam, 
which  were  followed  by  a,  fea-(le-joie  rolling  along  the  lines.  The 
mountain  sides  resounded  and  echoed  like  tremendous  peals  of 
thunder,  and  the  flashing  from  thousands  of  fire-arms,  in  the 
darkness  of  the  evening,  was  like  unto  vivid  Hashes  of  lightning 
from  the  clouds.  From  this  time  furloughs  were  freely  granted 
to  soldiers  who  wished  to  return  to  their  homes,  and  when  the 


THE  HUDSON.  141 

army  was  finally  disbanded  those  absent  were  discharged  from 
service  without  being  required  to  return.  That  portion  of  the 
army,  which  remained  at  Newburgh  on  guard  duty,  after  the 
removal  of  the  main  body  to  West  Point  in  June,  were  partici- 
pants here  in  the  closing  scenes  of  the  disbandment,  when,  on 
the  morning  of  November  3rd,  1783,  the  proclamation  of  Con- 
gress and  the  farewell  orders  of  Washington  were  read,  and  the 
last  word  of  command  given. '  From  Hon.  John  J.  Monell's 
"Handbook  of  Washington's  Headquarters '' we  also  quote  a 
general  description  of  the  house  and  its  appearance  when  occu- 
pied by  the  Commander-in-Chief.  "Washington's  family  con- 
sisted of  himself,  his  wife,  and  his  Aid-de-Camp,  Major  Tench 
Tighlman.  The  large  room,  which  is  entered  from  the  piazza 
on  the  east,  known  as  '  the  room  with  seven  doors  and  one  win- 
dow,' was  used  as  the  dining  and  sitting-room.  The  northeast 
room  was  Washington's  bedroom  and  the  one  adjoining  it  on  the 
left  was  occupied  by  him  as  a  private  ofifice.  The  family  room  was 
that  in  the  south-east ;  the  kitchen  was  the  southwest  room  ;  the 
parlor  the  northwest  room.  Between  the  latter  and  the  former 
was  the  hall  and  staircase  and  the  store-room,  so  called  for  hav- 
ing been  used  by  Col.  Hasbrouck  and  subsequently  by  his  widow 
as  a  store.  The  parlor  was  mainly  reserved  for  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton and  her  guests.  A  Mrs.  Hamilton,  whose  name  frequently 
appears  in  Washington's  account  book,  was  his  housekeeper,  and 
in  the  early  part  of  the  war  made  a  reputation  for  her  zeal  in  his 
service,  which  Thacher  makes  note  of  and  Washington  acknowl- 
edges in  his  reference  to  an  exchange  of  salt.  There  was  little 
room  for  the  accommodation  of  guests,  but  it  is  presumed  that 
the  chambers  were  reserved  for  that  purpose.     Washington's 


142  THE  HUDSON. 

guests,  however,  were  mainly  connected  with  the  army  and  had 
quarters  elsewhere.  Even  Lafayette  had  rooms  at  DeGrove's 
Hotel  when  a  visitor  at  Headquarters. 

"The  building-  is  now  substantially  in  the  condition  it  was 
during  Washington's  occupation  of  it.  The  same  massive  tim- 
bers span  the  ceiling;  the  old  fire-place  with  its  widie-open 
chimney  is  ready  for  the  huge  back-logs  of  yore  ;  the  seven 
doors  are  in  their  places;  the  rays  of  the  morning  sun  still 
stream  through  the  one  window  ;  no  alteration  in  form  has  been 
made  in  the  old  piazza — the  adornments  on  the  walls,  if  such  the 
ancient  hostess  had,  have  alone  been  changed  for  souvenirs  of  the 
heroes  of  the  nation's  independence.  In  presence  of  these  sur- 
roundings, it  requires  but  little  effort  of  the  imagination  to  restore 
the  'departed  guests.  Forgetting  not  that  this  was  Washing- 
ton's private  residence,  rather  than  a  place  for  the  transaction 
of  public  business,  we  may,  in  the  old  sitting-room  respread 
the  long  oaken  table,  listen  to  the  blessing  invoked  on  the 
morning  meal,  hear  the  cracking  of  joints,  and  the  mingled 
hum  of  conversation.  The  meal  dispensed,  Mrs.  Washington 
retires  to  appear  at  her  flower  beds  or  in  her  parlor  to  receive 
her  morning  calls.  Colfax,  the  captain  of  the  Life-Guard, 
enters  to  receive  the  orders  of  the  day— perhaps  a  horse  and 
guard  for  Washington  to  visit  New  Windsor,  or  a  barge  for 
Fishkill  or  West  Point,  is  required ;  or  it  may  be  Washington 
remains  at  home  and  at  his  writing  desk  conducts  his  corres- 
pondence, or  dictates  orders  for  army  movements.  The  old 
arm-chair,  sitting  in  the  corner  yonder,  is  still  ready  for  its 
former  occupant. 

"The  dinner  hour  of  five  o'clock  approaches ;  the  guests  of  the 


THE  HUDSON.  143 

day  have  already  arrived.  Steuben,  the  iron  drill-master  and 
German  soldier  of  fortune,  converses  with  Mrs.  Washington. 
He  has  reduced  the  simple  marksmen  of  Bunker  Hill  to  the 
discipline  of  the  armies  of  Europe  and  tested  their  efficiency  in 
the  din  of  battle.  He  has  leisure  now,  and  scarcely  knows  how 
to  find  employment  for  his  active  mind.  He  is  telling  his  host- 
ess, in  broken  German-Eng-lish,  of  the  whale  (it  proved  to  be  an 
eel)  he  had  cauirht  in  the  river.  Hear  his  hostess  laugh  !  And 
that  is  the  voice  of  Lafayette,  relating  perhaps  his  adventures 
in  escaping  from  France,  or  his  mishap  in  attempting  to  attend 
Mrs.  Knox's  last  party.  Wayne,  of  Stony  Point ;  Gates,  of 
Saratoga;  Clinton,  the  Irish-blooded  Governor  of  New  York, 
and  their  compatriots — we  may  place  them  all  at  times  beside 
our  rater  Patrice  in  this  old  room,  and  hear  amid  the  mingled 
hum  his  voice  declare:  '* Happy,  thrice  happy,  shall  they  be 
pronounced  hereafter,  who  have  contributed  anything,  who  have 
performed  the  meanest  office  in  erecting  this  stupendous  fabric 
of  Freedom  and  Empire  on  the  broad  basis  of  independency; 
who  have  assisted  in  protecting  the  rights  of  human  nature, 
and  in  establishing  an  asylum  for  the  poor  and  oppressed  of  all 
nations  and  religions." 

"In  France,  some  fifty  years  after  the  Revolution,  Marbois 
reproduced,  as  an  entertainment  for  Lafayette,  then  an  old  man, 
this  old  sitting-room  and  its  table  scene.  From  his  elegant 
saloon  he  conducted  his  guests,  among  whom  were  several 
Americans,  to  the  room  which  he  had  prepared.  There  was  a 
large  open  fire-place,  and  plain  oaken  floors;  the  ceiling  was 
supported  with  large  beams  and  whitewashed ;  there  were 
the  seven  small-sized  doors  and  one  window  with  heavy  sash 


144  THE  HUDSON. 

and  small  panes  of  glass.  The  furniture  was  plain  and  unliko 
any  then  in  use.  Down  the  centre  of  the  room  was  an  oaken 
table  covered  with  dishes  of  meat  and  vegetables,  decanters  and 
bottles  of  wine,  and  silver  mugs  and  small  wine  glasses.  The 
whole  had  something  the  appearance  of  a  Dutch  kitchen.  While 
the  guests  were  looking  around  in  surprise  at  this  strange  pro- 
cedure, the  host,  addressing  himself  to  them  said,  '  Do  you 
know  where  we  now  are  ?  '  Lafayette  looked  around,  and,  as  if 
awakening  from  a  dream,  he  exclaimed,  '  Ah  !  the  seven  doors 
and  one  window,  and  the  silver  camp  goblets  such  as  the  Mar- 
shals of  France  used  in  my  youth.  We  are  at  Washington's 
Headquarters  on  the  Hudson  fifty  years  ago."  •' 

The  Hasbrouck  family  returned  to  their  old  home,  made  his- 
toric for  all  time,  after  the  disbandment  of  the  army  and  re- 
mained until  it  became  the  property  of  the  State.  On  July  4th, 
1850,  the  place  was  formally  dedicated  by  Major  General  Win- 
field  Scott,  Dedicatory  Address  delivered  by  John  J.  Monell,  an 
Ode  by  Mary  E.  Monell,  and  an  oration  by  Hon.  John  W.  Ed- 
munds. The  Centennial  of  the  Disbanding  of  the  Army  was 
observed  here  October  18th,  1883.  After  the  noonday  procession 
of  10,000  men  in  line,  three  miles  in  length,  with  Governors  and 
representative  people  from  almost  every  State,  150,000  people, 
"ten  acres"  square,  gathered  in  the  historic  grounds.  Senator 
Bayard,  of  Delaware,  was  chairman  of  the  day,  Hon.  William 
M.  Evarts  was  the  orator,  and  modestly  speaking  in  the  third 
person,  Wallace  Bruce,  author  of  this  hand-book,  was  the  poet. 
No  one  there  gathered  can  ever  forget  that  afternoon  of  glorious 
sunlight  or  the  noble  pageant.  The  great  mountains,  which 
had  so  frequently  been  the  bulwark  of  liberty  and  a  place  of 


THE  HUDSON.  145 

refuge  for  our  fathers,  were  all  aglow  with  beauty,  as  if,  like 
Horeb's  bush,  they  too  would  open  their  lips  in  praise  and 
thanksgiving.  One  of  the  closing  sentences  of  Senator  Evarts' 
address  is  unsurpassed  in  modern  or  ancient  eloquence  :  "  These 
rolling  years  have  shown  growth,  forever  growth,  and  strength, 
increasing  strength,  and  wealth  and  numbers  ever  expanding, 
while  intelligence,  freedom,  art,  culture  and  religion  have  per- 
vaded and  ennobled  all  this  material  greatness.  Wide,  how- 
ever, as  is  our  land  and  vast  our  population  to-day,  these  are 
not  the  limits  to  the  name,  the  fame,  the  power  of  the  life  and 
character  of  Washington.  If  it  could  be  imagined  that  this 
nation,  rent  by  disastrous  feuds,  broken  in  its  unit}-,  should  ever 
present  the  miserable  spectacle  of  the  undefiled  garments  of  his 
fame  parted  among  his  countrymen,  while  for  the  seamless 
vesture  of  his  virtue  they  cast  lots— if  this  unutterable  shame,  if 
this  immeasurable  crime,  should  overtake  this  land  and  this 
people,  be  sure  that  no  spot  in  the  wide  world  is  inhospitable  to 
his  glory,  and  no  people  in  it  but  rejoices  in  the  influence  of  his 
power  and  his  virtue."  In  his  lofty  sentences  the  old  heroes 
seemed  to  pass  again  in  review  before  us,  and  the  daily  life  of 
that  heroic  band,  when  Congress  sat  inactive  and  careless  of  its 
needs  until  the  camp  rose  in  mutiny,  happily  checked,  how- 
ever, by  Washington  in  a  single  sentence.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  he  began  to  read  his  manuscript  without  glasses,  but 
was  compelled  to  stop,  and,  as  he  adjusted  them  to  his  eyes,  he 
said,  "You  see,  gentlemen,  that  I  have  not  only  grown  gray,  but 
blind,  in  your  service."  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  "anony- 
mously called  "  meeting  was  not  held. 


146  THE  HUDSON. 

He  quelled  the  half-paid  mutineers, 

And  bound  them  closer  to  the  cause  ; 
His  presence  turned  their  wrath  to  tears, 

Their  muttered  threats  to  loud  applause. 

The  great  Republic  had  its  birth 

That  hour  beneath  the  army's  wing, 
Whose  leader  taught  by  native  worth 

The  man  is  grander  than  the  king. 

Near  at  hand,  and  also  plainly  seen  from  the  river,  is  the  new 
Tower  of  Victory,  fifty-three  feet  high,  costing-  $67,000.  It  con- 
tains a  life-size  statue  of  Washington,  in  the  act  of  sheathing  his 
sword,  with  bronze  figures  representing  the  Rifle,  the  Artillery, 
the  Line  Officer  and  Dragoon  service  of  our  country,  with  a 
bronze  tablet  on  the  east  wall  bearing  the  inscription  :  ' '  This 
monument  was  erected  under  the  authority  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  and  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in  commemo- 
ration of  the  disbandment,  under  proclamation  of  the  Continen- 
tal Congress,  of  October  18,  1783,  oC  the  armies,  by  whose 
patriotic;  and  military  virtue,  our  national  independence  and 
sovereignty  were  established.*'  The  Belvidere,  reached  by  a 
spiral  staircase,  is  capable  of  holding  one  hundred  persons,  and 
the  view  therefrom  takes  in  a  wide  extent  of  panoramic  beauty. 
Newburgh  has  not  only  reason  to  be  proud  of  her  historical  land- 
marks and  her  beautiful  situation,  but  also  of  her  commercial 
prosperit}^  In  olden  times,  it  was  a  great  centre  for  all  the 
western  and  southwestern  distri(;t,  farmers  and  lumbermen 
coming  from  long  distances  in  the  interior.  Soon  after  the 
Revolution  slie  was  made  a  vilhige,  when  there  were  only  two 
others  in  the  State.     Before  the  days  of  the  Erie  canal,  this 


THE  HUDSON,  147 

was  the  the  shortest  route  to  Lake  Erie,  and  was  made  by  stage, 
via  Ithaca.  With  increasing*  facilities  of  railway  communica- 
tion, she  has  also  easily  held  her  own  against  all  commercial 
rivals.  The  We^t  Shore  Railroad,  the  Erie  Baihvay,  the  Neiv 
York  Central  and  the  Xeiv  York  and  New  England  across  the 
river,  and  several  Hudson  river  steamers,  make  her  peculiarly 
central  for  Hudson  river  traffic.  The  city  is  also  favored  with 
beautiful  driveways,  amid  charming  country  seats.  The  New 
Paltz  road  passes  the  site  where  General  Wayne  had  his  head- 
quarters, also,  the  "  Balm  of  Gilead  tree,"  which  g-ave  the  name 
of  Balmville  to  the  suburban  locality.  Another  road  affords  a 
glimpse  of  the  "  Vale  of  Avoca,"  named  after  the  well-known 
glen  in  Ireland,  of  which  Tom  Moore  has  sweetly  sung.  Here, 
some  say,  a  treacherous  attempt  was  made  on  the  life  of  Wash- 
ington, but  it  is  not  generally  credited  by  critical  historians. 
As  the  steamer  leaves  the  dock,  and  we  look  back  upon  the  fac- 
tories and  commercial  houses  along  the  water  front,  crowned  by 
noble  streets  of  residence,  with  adjoining  plateau,  sweeping  back 
in  a  vast  semi-circle  as  a  ])eautiful  framework  to  the  wide  bay, 
we  do  not  wonder  that  Hendrich  Hudson  established  a  prophetic 
record  by  writing  "  a  very  pleasant  place  to  build  a  town." 

Fisbkill-on-tlie-Hudson,  (])opulation  3,617).  Directly  op- 
posite Newburgh,  one  mile  north  of  Denning's  Point,  (formerly 
the  eastern  dock  of  the  Newburgh  ferry),  rises  on  a  pleasant  slope, 
the  newer  Fishkill  of  this  region.  A  little  more  than  a  mile 
from  the  Landing,  is  the  manufacturing  village  of  Matteawan, 
closely  connected  by  an  electric  railroad,  and  both  towns,  thus 
blended  and  joined,  number  about  11,000  people.  Old  Fishkill, 
or  Fishkill  Village,  is  about  four  miles  inland,  charmingly  loca- 


148  THE  HUDSON. 

ted,  under  the  slope  of  the  Fishkill  range.  This  was  once  the 
largest  village  in  Dutchess  county,  and  was  chosen  for  its  secure 
position  above  the  Highlands,  as  the  place  to  which  "  should  be 
removed  the  treasury  and  archives  of  the  State,  also,  as  the  spot 
for  holding  the  subsequent  sessions  of  the  Provincial  Conven- 
tions," after  they  were  driven  from  New  York.  A  historical 
sketch  of  the  town,  by  T.  Van  Wyck  Brinkerhoff,  presents 
many  things  of  interest.  "  Its  history,  anterior  to  1G82,  belongs 
to  the  red  men  of  the  valley,  and,  more  than  any  other  spot,  this 
was  the  home  of  their  priests.  Here  they  ])crformed  their  in- 
cantations and  administered  at  their  altars."  According  to 
Broadhead,  "It  would  seem  that  the  neighboring  Indians  es- 
teemed the  peltries  from  Fishkill  as  charmed  by  the  incanta- 
tions of  the  aboriginal  enchanters  who  lived  along  its  banks,  and 
the  beautiful  scenery  in  which  those  ancient  priests  of  the  High- 
lands dwelt,  is  thus  invested  with  new  poetic  associations." 
Dunlap  speaks  of  them  as  "occupying  the  Highlands,  called  by 
them  Kittatenny  mountains.  Their  principal  settlement,  desig- 
nated Wiccapee,  was  situated  in  the  vicinity  of  Anthony's  Nose. 
Here  too,  lived  the  Wappingers,  a  war-like  and  brave  tribe,  ex- 
tending themselves  along  the  Matteawan,  along  the  Wappin- 
gers Kill  and  tributaries,  along  the  Hudson,  and  to  the  north- 
ward, across  the  river  into  Ulster  county.  These  and  other 
tribes  to  the  south,  west  and  north,  were  parts  of  and  tributaries 
to  the  great  Iroquois  confederation — the  marvel  for  all  time  to 
come  of  a  system  of  government  so  wise  and  politic,  and  for  men 
so  eloquent  and  daring.  The  Wappingers  took  part  in  the 
Dutch  and  Indian  Wars  of  ICU.*^,  and  1663,  led  on  by  their  war- 
cLicfs,  Wapperonk  and  Acpjcn.     A  few  Indian  names  are  still 


THE  HUDSON.  149 

remaining-,  and  a  few  traces  of  their  history  still  left  standing. 
The  name  Matteawan  is  Indian,  sig-nifying  '  Good  Beaver 
Grounds,'  and  the  name  Wappinger  still  speaks  of  those  who 
once  owned  the  soil  along  the  Hudson.  Their  name  for  the 
stream  was  Mawanassigh,  or  Mawenawasigh.  Wiccapee  and 
Shenondoah  are  also  Indian  names  of  places  in  Fishkill  Hook, 
and  East  Fishkill,  and  Apoquague,  still  surviving  as  the  name 
of  a  country  post-office,  was  the  Indian  style  of  what  is  now 
called  Silver  Lake,  signifying  '  round  pond.'  In  Fishkill  Hook 
until  quite  recently,  there  were  traces  of  their  burial  grounds, 
and  many  apple  and  pear  trees  are  still  left  standing,  set  there 
by  the  hands  of  the  red  man  before  the  country  had  been  occu- 
pied by  Europeans." 

To  return  to  Brinkerhoff,  "The  first  purchase  of  land  in  the 
county  of  Dutchess,  was  made  in  the  town  of  Fishkill.  On  the 
8th  day  of  February,  1<)82,  a  license  was  given  by  Thomas  Don- 
gan,  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Province  of  New  York,  to  Fran- 
cis Rombout  and  Gulian  Ver  Planck,  to  purchase  a  tract  of  land 
from  the  Indians.  Under  this  license,  they  bought,  on  the  8th 
day  of  August,  1683,  of  the  Wappinget-  Indians,  all  their  right, 
title  and  interest  to  a  certain  large  tract  of  land,  afterward 
known  as  the  Rombout  precinct.  Gulian  Ver  Planck  died  before 
the  English  patent  was  issued  by  Governor  Dongan  ;  Stephanus 
Van  Cortland  was  then  joined  in  it  with  Rombout,  and  Jacobus 
Kipp  substituted  as  the  representative  of  the  children  of  Gulian 
Ver  Planck.  On  the  17th  day  of  October,  1685,  letters  patent, 
under  the  broad  seal  of  the  Province  of  New  York,  were  granted 
by  King  James  the  Second,  and  the  parties  to  whom  these  let- 
ters patent  were  granted,  became  fronj  that  tirafe  the  undisputed 


150  THE  HUDSON. 

proprietors  of  the  soil.  There  were  76,000  acres  of  these  lands 
lying-  in  Fishkill,  and  other  towns  taken  from  the  patent,  and 
9,000  acres  lying  in  the  limits  of  the  town  of  Poug-hkeepsie.  Be- 
sides paying  the  natives,  as  a  further  consideration  for  the  privi- 
lege of  their  license,  they  were  to  pay  the  Commander-in-chief, 
Thomas  Dongan,  six  bushels  of  good  and  merchantable  winter 
wheat  every  year."  In  the  Book  of  Patents,  at  Albany,  Vol.  5, 
page  72,  will  be  found  the  deed,  of  special  interest  to  the  his- 
torian and  antiquarian. 

'•After  the  evacuation  of  New  York,  in  *he  fall  of  1776,  and 
the  immediate  loss  of  the  seaboard,  with  Lonp"  Island  and  part 
of  New  Jersey,  Fishkill  was  at  once  crowded  with  refugees,  us 
they  were  then  called,  who  sought,  by  banishing  themselves 
from  their  homes  on  Long  Island  and  New  York,  to  escape  im- 
prisonment and  find  safety  here.  The  interior  army  rout  to 
Boston  passed  through  this  place.  Army  stores,  workshops, 
ammunition,  etc.,  were  established  and  deposited  hero."  The 
Marquis  De  Chastellux,  in  his  travels  in  North  Amjrica,  says* 
"This  town,  in  which  there  are  not  more  than  fifty  houses  in 
the  space  of  two  miles,  has  been  long  the  i)rincipal  depot  of  vhe 
American  Army.  It  is  there  they  have  placed  their  magazines, 
their  hospitals,  their  workshops,  etc.,  but  all  of  these  form  a 
town  in  themselves,  composed  of  handsome  large  barracks,  built 
in  the  woods  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  :  for  the  American 
Army,  like  the  Romans  in  many  respects,  have  hardly  any  other 
winter  quarters  than  wooden  towns,  or  barricaded  camps,  which 
may  be  compared  to  the  'hiemalia'  of  the  Romans."  These 
barracks  were  situated  on  the  level  plateau  between  the  resi- 
dence of  Mr.   Cothcal  and  the  mountains.     Portions  of  these 


THE  HUDSON.  151 

grounds  were  no  doubt  then  covered  with  timber.  Guarding 
the  approach  from  the  south,  stockades  and  fortifications  were 
erected  on  commanding  positions,  and  regularly  manned  by 
detachments  from  the  camp. 

''Upon  one  of  these  hills,  rising  out  of  this  mountain  pass-way, 
very  distinct  lines  of  earthworks  are  yet  apparent.  Near  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Sidney  E.  Van  Wyck,  by  the  large  black- wal- 
nut trees,  and  east  of  the  road  near  the  base  of  the  mountain, 
was  the  soldiers'  burial  ground.  Many  a  poor  patriot  soldier's 
bones  lie  mouldering  there  ;  and  if  we  did  but  know  how  many, 
we  would  be  startled  at  the  number,  for  this  almost  unknown 
and  unnoticed  burial  ground  holds  not  a  few,  but  hundreds  of 
those  who  gave  their  lives  for  the  cause  of  American  Independ- 
ence. Some  fifteen  years  ago,  an  old  lady  who  had  lived  near 
the  village  until  after  she  had  grown  to  womanhood,  told  the 
writer  that  after  the  battle  of  White  Plains  she  went  with  her 
father  through  the  streets  of  Fishkill,  and  in  places  between  the 
Dutch  and  Episcopal  Churches,  the  dead  were  piled  up  like  cord- 
wood.  Those  who  died  from  wounds  in  battle  or  from  sickness 
in  hospital  were  buried  there.  Many  of  these  were  State  militia- 
men, and  it  seems  no  more  than  just  that  the  State  should  make 
an  appropriation  to  erect  a  suitable  monument  over  this  spot. 
Rather  than  thus  remain  for  another  century,  if  a  rough  granite 
boulder  were  rolled  down  from  the  mountain  side  and  inscribed  : 
"To  the  unknown  and  unnumbered  dead  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution," that  rough  unhewn  stone  would  tell  to  the  stranger  and 
the  passer-by,  more  to  the  praise  and  fame  of  our  native  town, 
than  any  of  us  shall  be  able  to  add  to  it  by  works  of  our  own: 
for  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  spot  in  the  State  has  as  many  of 


152  THE  HUDSON. 

the  buried  dead  of  the  Revolution  as  this  quiet  burial  yard  in 
our  old  town  ! "  Here  also  on  June  2d,  1883,  was  observed  "  The 
Fishkill  Centennial "  with  addresses  by  Hon.  Theodoric  R.  West- 
brook,  J.  Hervey  Cook,  and  Hon.  James  G.  Graham ;  and  few 
of  our  Centennials  have  been  celebrated  amid  objects  of  greater 
Revolutionary  interest.  Near  at  hand,  to  quote  from  the  official 
report  of  the  proceeding's,  is  "  Denning-'s  Point  where  Washing-- 
ton  frequently,  while  waiting,  tied  his  horses  under  those  mag- 
nificent 'Washington  oaks,'  as  he  passed  backward  and  forward 
from  New  Windsor  and  Newburgh  to  Fishkill.  Near  by  is  the 
Verplanck  House,  Baron  Steuben's  old  headquarters.  On  Spy 
Hill  and  Continental  Hill  troops  were  quartered.  At  Mattea- 
wan  Sackett  lived,  and  there  is  the  Teller  House  built  by 
Madame  Brett,  where  officers  frequently  resorted,  and  there 
Yates  dwelt  when  he  presided  over  the  Legislative  body  while 
it  held  its  sessions  in  Fishkill,  that  had  much  to  do  with  forming 
our  first  State  Constitution.  Baron  Steuben  was  for  a  while  in 
the  old  Scofield  house  at  Glenham.  In  Fishkill  are  those  re- 
nowned old  churches  where  Legislative  sittings  were  held, 
which  were  also  used  as  hospitals  for  the  sick,  and  one  of  which 
is  otherwise  known  as  being  the  place  where  Enoch  Crosby,  the 
spy,  was  imprisoned,  and  from  which  he  escaped.  Near  at 
hand  the  Wharton  House,  (Van  Wyck  House)  forever  associated 
with  him,  and  made  famous  by  Cooper's  '  Spy.'  In  the  Brincker- 
hoff  House  above,  Lafayette  was  dangerously  ill  with  a  fever, 
and  there  at  Swartwoutville  Washington  was  often  a  visitor. 
Whenever  Washington  was  at  Fishkill  ho  made  Col.  Brincker- 
hoflf's  his  headquarters.  He  occupied  the  bedroom  back  of  the 
parlor,  which  remains  the  same  *  excepting  a  door  that  opens 


THE  HUDSON.  153 

into  the  hall,  which  has  been  cut  through.'  It  is  an  old- 
fashioned  house  built  of  stone,  with  the  date  1738  on  one  of  its 
gables."  With  the  story  of  Fishkill  we  close  the  largest  page 
relating  to  our  Revolutionary  heroes,  and  leave  behind  us  the 
Old  Beacon  Mountains  which  forever  sentinel  and  proclaim  their 
glory. 

liOW  Point,  or  Carthage,  is  a  small  village  on  the  east  bank, 
about  four  miles  north  of  Fishkill.  It  was  called  by  the  early 
inhabitants  Low  Point,  as  New  Hamburgh,  two  miles  north, 
was  called  High  Point.  Opposite  Carthage  is  Roseton,  once 
known  as  Middlehope,  and  above  this  we  see  the  residence  of 
Bancroft  Davis  and  the  Armstrong  Mansion.  We  now  behold 
on  the  west  bank  a  large  flat  rock,  covered  with  cedars,  recently 
marked  by  a  light-house,  the — 

Duyvel's  Dans  Kammer.— Here  Hendrich  Hudson,  in  his 
voyage  up  the  river,  witnessed  an  Indian  pow-wow — the  first  re- 
corded fire-works  in  a  country  which  has  since  delighted  in  rock- 
ets and  pyrotechnic  displays.  Here,  too,  in  later  years,  tradi- 
tion relates  the  sad  fate  of  a  wedding  party.  It  seems  that  a 
Mr.  Hans  Hansen  and  a  Miss  Kathrina  Van  Voorman,  with  a 
few  friends,  were  returning  from  Albany,  and  disregarding  the 
old  Indian  prophecy,  were  all  slain  :— 

"  For  none  that  visit  the  Indian's  den 
Return  again  to  the  haunts  of  men. 
The  knife  is  their  doom  I  O  sad  is  their  lot  f 
Beware,  beware  of  the  blood-stained  spot  1  " 

Some  years  ago  this  spot  was  also  searched  for  the  buried 
treasures  of  Captain  Kidd,  and  we  know  of  one  river  pilot  who 
still  dreams  semi-yearly  of  there  finding  countless  chests  of  gold 


154  THE  HUDSON. 

Two  miles  above,  on  the  east  side,  we  pass  New  Hamburgh,  at 
the  mouth  of  Wappingers  Creek.  The  name  Wappinger  had  its 
origin  from  Wabun,  east,  and  Acki,  land.  This  tribe,  a  sub-tribe 
of  the  Mah leans,  held  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  from  Manhattan 
to  Hoeliffe  Jansen's  Creek,  which  empties  into  the  Hudson  near 
Livingston,  a  few  miles  south  of  Catskill  Station  on  the  Hudson 
River  Railroad.  Passing  Hampton  Point  we  see  Marlborough, 
the  Jiead -centre  of  a  large  fruit  industry,  delightfully  located  in 
the  sheltered  pass  of  the  Maunekill.  On  the  east  bank  will  be 
noticed  several  fine  residences:  S.  W.  Johnson's  "Uplands,"  J. 
P.  Sheafs  "High  Cliff,-'  Dr.  J.  Lenox  Bank's  "Cedars,"  and 
Irving  Grinneirs  "  Netherwood."  Milton  is  now  at  hand  on  the 
west  bank,  with  its  cozy  landing  and  West  Shore  Railroad  station. 
This  pleasant  village  was  one  of  the  loved  spots  of  J.  G.  Hol- 
land, and  the  home  of  Mary  Hallock  Poote,  until  a  modern 
"  Hiawatha  "  took  our  Hudson  "  Minnehaha  "  to  far  away  west- 
ern mountains,  but  millions  of  readers  are  still  made  happy 
alike  by  her  pen  and  pencil. 

Locust  Grove,  residence  of  the  late  Prof.  S.  F.  B.  Morse,  in- 
ventor of  the  telegraph,  is  seen  on  the  west  bank;  also  the 
*  Lookout,"  once  known  as  Mine  Hill,  now  a  part  of  Poughkeepsie 
Cemetery,  with  charming  drive-way  to  the  wooded  point,  where 
the  visitor  can  see  from  his  carriage  one  of  the  finest  views  of  the 
Hudson.  The  completion  of  this  drive  is  largely  due  to  the  enter- 
prise of  the  late  Mr.  George  Corlies,  who  did  much  during  the  last 
fifty  years  to  make  Poughkeepsie  beautiful.  The  view  from  this 
Lookout  takes  in  the  river  for  ten  miles  to  the  south,  and 
reaches  on  the  north  to  the  Catskills.  In  a  recent  ramble  with 
Mr.  C'orlies  over  I^(H)k()ut  Point,  he  told  the  writer  that  It  was 


THE  HUDSON. 


155 


originally  the  purpose  of  Matthew  Vassar  to  erect  a  monument 
on  Pollopel's  Island  to  Hendrich  Hudson.  Mr.  Corlies  sug-g-ested 
this  point  as  the  most  commanding  site.  Mr.  Vassar  visited  it, 
and  concluded  to  place  the  monument  here.  He  published  an 
article  in  the  Poughkeepsie  papers  to  this  effect,  and,  meeting 
Mr.  Corlies  one  week  aftei^wards,  said,  "Not  one  person  in  the 
city  of  Poughkeepsie  has  referred   to  my   monument.     I  have 


MORNING  \'TEW   AT  BLUE  POINT. 

decided  to  build  a  College  for  Women,  where  they  can  learn 
what  is  useful,  practical  and  sensible."  It  is  interesting  to  note 
the  fountain-idea  of  the  first  woman's  college  in  the  world,  as  it 
took  form  and  shape  in  the  mind  of  its  founder. 

We  now  see  Blue  Point,  on  the  west  bank;  and.  In  every 
direction,  enjoy  the  finest  views.  The  scenery  seems  to  stand, 
in  character,  between  the  sublimity  of  the  Highlands  and  the 
tranquil  dreamy  repose  of  the  Tappan  Zee.  It  is  said  that  under 
the  shadow  of  these  hills  was  the  favorite  anchorage  of— 


156  THE  HUDSON. 

The  Storm  Sbip,  one  of  our  oldest  and  most  reliable  leg-ends. 
The  story  runs  somewhat  as  follows :  Years  ago,  when  Xew 
York  was  a  villag-e — a  mere  cluster  of  houses  on  the  point  now 
known  as  the  Battery — when  the  Bowery  was  the  farm  of  Peter 
Stuy  vesant,  and  the  Old  Dutch  Church  on  Nassau  Street  (which 
also  long"  since  disappeared,  was  considered  the  country — when 
communication  with  the  old  world  was  semi-yearly  instead  of 
semi-weekly  or  daily — say  two  hundred  years  ago — the  whole 
town  one  evening-  was  put  into  great  commotion  by  the  fact 
that  a  ship  was  coming  up  the  bay.  She  approached  the  Bat- 
tery within  hailing  distance,  and  then,  sailing  against  both 
wind  and  tide,  turned  aside  and  passed  up  the  Hudson.  Week 
after  w^eek  and  month  after  month  elapsed,  but  she  never  re- 
turned ;  and  whenever  a  storm  came  down  on  Haverstraw  Bay 
or  Tappan  Zee,  it  is  said  that  she  could  be  seen  careening  over 
the  waste  ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  the  turmoil,  you  could  hear  the 
captain  giving  orders,  in  good  Low  Dutch ;  but  when  the  weather 
was  pleasant,  her  favorite  anchorage  was  among  the  shadows 
of  the  picturesque  hills,  on  the  eastern  bank,  a  few  miles  above 
the  Highlands.  It  was  thought  by  some  to  be  Hendrich  Hud- 
son and  his  crew  of  the  "Half  Moon,"  who,  it  was  well  known, 
had  once  run  aground  in  the  upper  part  of  the  river,  seeking  a 
northwest  passage  to  China ;  and  people  who  live  in  this  vicinity 
still  insist  that  under  the  calm  harvest  moon  and  the  pleasant 
nights  of  September,  they  see  her  under  the  bluff  of  Blue  Point, 
all  in  deep  shadow,  save  her  topsails  glittering  in  the  moonlight. 
Perhaps  it  was  this  quiet  anchorage  that  gave  the  name  to 

Pougtikeepsie,  (seventy-four  miles  from  New  York,  popula- 
tion Z\,{\)^\),  Queen   City  of  the  Hudson,  whose  name,  derived 


THE  HUDSON.  157 

from  the  Indian  word  Apokeepsing,  sig-nilies  safe  harbor.  Near 
the  landing"  a  bold  headland  juts  out  into  the  river,  known  as 
Kaal  Rock,  (signifying  barren,  or  as  old-time  residents  say  be- 
cause sailing  vessels  used  to  be  "hailed"  here,  in  early  days 
by  patient  travelers,)  and  no  doubt  this  sheltering  rock  was 
a  safe  harbor  or  landing  place  in  days  of  birch  canoes.  It  is 
said  that  there  are  over  foi'ty  different  ways  of  spelling  Pough- 
keepsie,  and  every  year  the  Post-Office  record  gives  a  new 
one.  The  first  house  was  built  in  1702  by  a  Mr.  Van  Kleeck. 
The  State  Legislature  had  a  session  here  in  1777  or  1778,  when 
New  York  was  held  by  the  British  and  after  Kingston  had  been 
burned  ])y  Vaughan.  Ten  years  later,  the  State  Convention  also 
met  here  for  ratification  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  The  town 
has  a  beautiful  location,  and  is  justly  regarded  the  finest  resi- 
dence city  on  the  river.  It  is  not  only  midway  between  New 
York  and  Albany,  but  also  midway  between  the  Highlands  and 
the  Catskills,  commanding  a  view  of  the  mountain  portals  on 
the  south  and  the  mountain  overlook  on  the  north — the  Gibraltar 
of  Revolutionary  fame  and  the  dreamland  of  Rip  Van  Winkle. 

The  well  known  poet  and  litterateur,  Joel  Benton,  who  divides 
his  residence  between  New  York  and  Poughkeepsie,  in  a  recent 
article,  "The  Midway  City  of  the  Hudson,"  written  for  the 
Foiiyhkeepsie  Sunday  Cmmer,  says  : 

"Poughkeepsie  as  a  township  was  incorporated  in  1788.  The 
village  bearing  the  name  was  formed  in  1799,  (incorporated 
as  a  city  in  1854),  and  soon  became  the  center  of  a  large  trade 
running  in  long  lines  east  and  west  from  the  river.  Dutchess 
county  had  at  this  time  but  a  sparse  population.  There  was  a 
post-road  from  New  York  to  Albany ;   but  the  building  of  the 


158  THE  HUDSON. 

Datcbess  Turnpike  from  Poughkeepsie  to  Sharon,  Conn.,  con- 
necting with  one  from  that  place  to  Litchfield,  which  took  place 
in  1808,  was  a  capital  event  in  its  history.  This  made  a  con- 
siderable strip  of  western  Connecticut  tributary  to  Foughkeep- 
sie's  trade. 

"  Over  the  turnpike  went  four-horse  Concord  stages,  with  be- 
railed  top  and  slanting  boot  in  the  rear  for  trunks  and  other 
baggage.  Each  one  had  the  tin  horn  of  the  driver  ;  and  it  was 
difficult  to  tell  upon  which  the  driver  most  prided  himself — the 
power  to  fill  that  thrilling  instrument,  or  his  deft  handling  of  the 
ponderous  whip  and  multiplied  reins.  Travelers  to  Hartford 
and  Boston  went  over  this  route  ;  and  an  east  and  west  through 
and  way  mail  was  a  part  of  the  burden.  A  sort  of  overland  ex- 
press and  freight  line,  styled  the  Market  Wagon,  ran  in  and  out 
of  the  town  from  several  directions.  One  or  more  of  these  con- 
veyances started  from  as  far  east  as  the  Housatonic  River,  and 
they  frequently  crowded  passengers  in  amongst  their  motley 
wares. 

"  Speaking  of  the  stage-driver's  horn  recalls  the  fact  that 
when  the  steamboat  arrived — which  was  so  solitary  an  institution 
that  for  some  time  it  was  distinctly  called  '  The  Steamboat ' — • 
the  tin  horn  did  duty  also  for  it.  When  it  was  seen  in  the  dis- 
tance, either  Albanyward  or  in  the  New  York  direction,  a  boy 
went  through  the  village  blowing  a  horn  to  arouse  those  who 
wished  to  embark  on  it.  It  is  said  the  expectant  passengers  had 
ample  time,  after  the  horn  was  sounded,  to  make  their  toilets, 
run  down  to  the  river  (or  walk  down)  and  take  passage  on  it. 

"  In  colonial  days  few  were  the  people  here  ;  but  they  were  a 
bright  and  stirring  handful.     It  seems  as  if  every  man  counted 


THE  HUDSON.  159 

as  ten.  The  De's  and  the  Vans,  the  Livingstons,  the  Schuylers, 
the  Montgomerys  and  ever  so  many  more  of  the  Hudson  River 
Valley  settlers  are  still  making  their  impress  upon  the  country. 
I  suppose  it  need  not  now  be  counted  strange  that  the  strong 
mixture  of  Dutch  and  English  settlers,  with  a  few  Huguenots, 
which  finally  made  Dutchess  county,  were  not  a  little  divided 
between  Tory  and  Whig  inclinations.  Around  Poughkeepsie, 
and  in  its  allied  towns  stretching  between  the  Hudson  River  and 
the  Connecticut  line,  there  was  much  strife.  Gov.  George  Clin- 
ton in  his  day  ruled  in  the  midst  of  much  tumult  and  turbulence ; 
but  he  held  the  reins  with  vigor,  in  spite  of  kidnj-ppers  or 
critics.  When  the  British  burned  King.- ton  he  prorogued  the 
Legislature  to  Poughkeepsie,  which  still  served  as  a  'safe 
harbor.'  As  the  revolution  progressed  the  Tory  faction  was 
weakened,  either  by  suppression  or  surrender. 

*'  It  was  in  the  Poughkeepsie  Court  House  that,  by  one  vote, 
after  a  Homeric  battle,  the  colony  of  New  York  consented  to  be- 
come a  part  of  the  American  republic,  which  consent  was  practi- 
cally necessary  to  its  existence.  How  large  a  part  two  small  inci- 
dents played  here  towards  the  result  of  nationality.  That  single 
vote  was  one,  and  the  news  by  express  from  Richmond,  announc- 
ing Virginia's  previous  ratification — and  added  stimulus  to  the 
vote — was  the  other.  Poughkeepsie  honored  in  May,  1824,  the 
arrival  of  Lafayette,  and  dined  him,  besides  exchanging  speeches 
with  him,  both  at  the  Forbus  House,  on  Market  street,  very 
nearly  where  the  Nelson  House  now  stands,  and  at  the  Pough- 
keepsie Hotel.  It  was  one  of  Poughkeepsie's  great  days  when 
he  came.  Daniel  Webster  has  spoken  in  her  Court  House  ;  and 
Henry  Clay,  in  1844,  when  a  presidential  candidate,  stopped  for 


160  THE  HUDSON. 

a  reception.  And  it  is  said  that,  by  a  mere  accident,  she  ]ust 
missed  coniributing  a  name  to  the  list  of  Presidents  ct  tlie 
United  States.  The  omitted  candidate  was  Nathaniel  P.  Tal- 
madg-e.  He  could  have  had  the  vice-presidential  candidacy,  the 
story  goes,  in  1840,  but  would  not  take  it.  If  he  had  accepted  it, 
he  would  have  g-one  into  history  not  merely  as  United  States 
senator  from  New  York  and  afterwards  governor  of  Wisconsin 
territory,  but  as  president  in  John  Tyler's  place. 

*'In  1844,  the  New  York  State  Fair  was  held  here  somewhere 
east  of  what  is  now  Hooker  avenue.  It  was  an  occasion  thought 
important  enough  then  to  be  pictured  and  reported  in  the  Lon- 
don Illustrated  Ke^vs.  Two  years  after  the  telegraph  wires  were 
put  up  in  this  city,  before  they  had  yet  reached  the  city  of  New 
York.  Considering  the  fact  that  Prof.  S.  F.  B.  Morse,  the  tele- 
graph inventor,  had  his  residence  here,  this  incident  was  not 
wholly  inappropriate. 

"  The  advent  in  1849  of  the  Hudson  Biver  Bailroad,  which  was 
an  enterprise  in  its  day  of  startling  courage  and  magnitude, 
constituted  a  special  epoch  in  the  history  of  Poughkeepsie  and  the 
Hudson  river  towns.  Men  of  middle  age  here  well  remember 
the  hostility  and  ridicule  the  project  occasioned  when  it  was 
first  broached.  Some  said  no  railroad  ever  could  be  built  on  the 
river's  edge ;  and,  if  you  should  build  one,  the  enormous  expense 
incurred  would  make  it  forever  unprofitable.  It  seemed  then 
the  height  of  Quixotism  to  lay  an  expensive  track  where  the 
river  offered  a  free  way  to  all.  Property  holders,  whose  proj)- 
erty  was  to  be  greatly  benefited,  fought  the  railroad  company 
with  unusual  spirit  and  persistence.  But  the  railroad  came, 
nevertheless,  and  needs  no  advocate  or  a])ologist  to-day.     There 


THE  HUDSON.  161 

is  no  one  now  living-  here  who  would  ask  its  removal,  any  more 
than  he  would  ask  the  removal  of  the  Hudson  River  itself.'' 

Poughkeepsie  has  been  known  for  more  than  half  a  century 
as  the  City  of  Schools.  The  Parthenon-like  structure  which 
crowns  College  Hill  was  prophetic  of  a  still  grander  and  more 
widely  known  institution,  the  first  in  the  world  devoted  to 
higher  culture  for  women, — 

Vassar  College.  This  institution,  founded  by  Matthew 
Vassar,  and  situated  two  miles  east  of  the  city,  consists  of  a 
main  building  five  hundred  feet  long,  much  after  the  style  of 
the  Tuilleries,  with  Chapel,  Library,  Drawing  Room,  Parlor, 
Offices,  etc.  Grouped  about  this  and  surrounded  by  beautiful 
grounds  are  the  Museum,  Observatory,  Alumnae  Gymnasium, 
Laboratory,  etc.  The  College  has  a  quiet  and  charming  loca- 
tion, crowned  by  hills  372  feet  in  height,  but  is  not  seen  from 
the  river.  It  is  reached  by  one  of  the  favorite  drive-ways  of 
Poughkeepsie,  and  is  also  of  easy  access  by  an  electric-car  line, 
part  of  an  extensive  system  reaching  to  Wappingers  Falls,  and 
embracing  several  pleasant  beautiful  villages  of  the  vicinage. 

Eastman  College  is  also  one  of  the  fixed  and  solid  institu- 
tions of  Poughkeepsie,  located  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city.  It 
has  accomplished  good  work  in  preparing  young  men  for  busi- 
ness, and  has  made  Poughkeepsie  a  familiar  word  in  every 
household  throughout  the  land.  It  was  fortunate  for  the  city 
that  the  energetic  founder  of  this  college  selected  the  central 
point  of  the  Hudson  as  the  place  of  all  others  most  suited  for  his 
enterprise,  and  equally  fortunate  for  the  thousand  of  young  men 
who  yearly  graduate  from  this  institution,  as  the  city  is  charm- 
ingly located  and  set  like  a  picture  amid  picturesque  scenery. 


162  THE    HUDSON. 

Every  department  of  the  College  is  thoroughly  organized,  and 
the  course  of  training  forms  a  good  supplement  to  every  young 
man's  education.  Eastman  Park,  is  a  beautiful  feature  of  the 
city,  lying  on  a  plateau  just  below  Garfield  Place.  The  hospita- 
ble home  and  fairy  garden  of  the  Eastman  Place  are  known 
far  and  wide. 

Among  many  successful  public  institutions  of  Poughkeepsie 
are  the  Vassar  Hospital,  the  Vassar  Old  Men's  Home,  the  Old 
Ladies'  Home,  the  State  Hospital  and  the  Vassar  Institute  of 
Arts  and  Sciences.  The  best  known  of  its  clubs  are  the  Amrita, 
the  Dutchess  and  the  Bicycle.  The  Opera  House  is  one  of  the 
pleasantest  in  the  country  and  received  a  high  comment  from 
Joseph  Jefferson  for  its  perfect  acoustic  quality.  The  Armory, 
the  Adriance  Memorial  Library  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
John  P.  Adriance,  and  the  historic  house  on  Main  street  pur- 
chased in  189S  by  the  Daughters  of  the  Revolution,  also  claim 
the  attention  of  the  visitor.  Several  factories  are  here  located, 
the  best  known  being  that  of  Adriance,  Piatt  <fc  Co.,  whose 
Buckeye  Mowers  and  Reapers  have  been  awarded  the  high- 
est honors  in  Germany,  Holland,  France,  Belgium,  Sweden, 
Norway,  Italy,  Russia,  Switzerland,  and  the  United  States,  and 
are  sold  in  every  part  of  the  civilized  globe.  The  Phoenix 
Horseshoe  Co.,  the  Knitting-Goods  Establishment,  and  various 
Shoe,  Shirt  and  Silk  Thread  Factories  contribute  to  the  material 
prosperity  of  the  town.  The  drives  about  Poughkeepsie  are 
delightful.  Perhaps  the  best  known  in  the  United  States  is  the 
Hyde  Park  road,  six  miles  in  extent,  with  many  palatial  homes 
and  charming  ])ictures  of  park  and  river  scenery.  This  is  a 
part  of  the  old  Post  Road  and  reminds  one  by  its  perfect  finish 


THE  HUDSON.  ^^^ 

of  the  roadways  of  Eng^land.  Returning  one  can  take  a  road  to 
the  left  leading  by  and  up  to 

College  Hill,  365  feet  in  height,  commanding  a  wide  and 
extensive  prospect.  The  city  lies  below  us,  fully  embowered 
as  in  a  wooded  park.  To  the  east  the  vision  extends  to  the 
mountain  boundaries  of  Dutchess  County,  and  to  the  north  we 
have  a  view  of  the  Catskills  marshalled  as  we  have  seen  them  a 
thousand  times  in  sunset  beauty  along  the  horizon.  This  prop- 
erty, for  a  long  time  owned  by  Senator*  Morgan  and  his  heirs, 
has  been  recently  purchased  by  William  Smith  of  Poughkeepsie, 
and  given  to  the  city  as  a  public  park.  There  is  ample  oppor- 
tunity here  to  make  this  a  thing  of  wondrous  beauty  and  a  joy 
forever,  for  there  are  few  views  on  the  Hudson,  and  none  from 
any  hill  of  its  height,  that  surpass  it  in  extent  and  beauty.  The 
City  Reservoir  lies  to  the  north,  about  one  hundred  feet  down 
the  slope  of  College  Hill. 

The  South  Drive,  also  a  part  of  the  Post  Road,  passes  the 
gateway  of  the  beautiful  Rural  Cemetery,  Locust  Grove  and 
many  delightful  homes.  The  drive  to  and  through  the  grounds 
of  Irving  Grinnell  are  especially  pleasant.  The  village  of  Wap- 
pingers  Falls  may  be  visited  on  the  return  journey,  also  New 
Hackensack,  reaching  Poughkeepsie  by  the  Vassar  College 
road,  or  past  the  entrance  to  the  well-known  Poughkeepsie 
Driving  Park.  Another  interesting  drive  from  Poughkeepsie 
is  to  Lake  Moiionk  and  Minnewaska,  well-known  resorts  across 
the  Hudson,  in  the  heart  of  the  Shawangunk  (pronounced 
Shongum)  Mountains,  also  reached  by  railway  or  stages  via 
New  Platz.  The  graceful  little  steamer,  christened  "Queen 
City,"  also  suggests  a  pleasant  way  for  a  party  to  spend  the  day 


164  THE  HUDSON. 

cisiting  points  up  or  down  the  river,  picnicing"  here  and  there 
ai.ong  the  shore.  There  are  also  many  extended  drives  to  the 
interior  of  the  county  recommended  to  the  traveler  who  makes 
Poughkeepsie  for  a  time  his  central  point ;  chief  among  these. 
Chestnut  Ridge,  formerly  the  home  of  the  historian  Benson  J. 
Lossing,  lying  amid  the  hill  country  of  eastern  Dutchess.  Its 
mean  altitude  is  about  1100  feet  above  tide  water,  a  fragment  of 
the  Blue  Ridge  branch  of  the  Appalachian  chain  of  mountains, 
cleft  by  the  Hudson  at  West  Point,  stretching  away  to  the 
Berkshire  Hills.  It  is  also  easy  of  access  by  the  Hdrkm  Rail- 
road from  New  York  to  Dover  Plains  with  three  miles  of  car- 
riage drive  from  that  point.  The  outlook  from  the  ridge  is 
magnificent ;  a  sweep  of  eighty  miles  from  the  Highlands  to 
the  Helderbergs,  with  the  entire  range  of  the  Shawangunk  and 
the  Catskills.  Mr.  Lossing  once  said  that  his  family  of  nine 
persons  had  required  during  sixteen  years  residence  on  Chest- 
nut Ridge,  only  ten  dollars' worth  of  medical  attendance.  Pre- 
vious to  1868  he  had  resided  in  Poughkeepsie,  and  throughcut 
his  life  his  form  was  a  familiar  one  in  her  streets. 

Tlie  Dover  Stone  Cliurcli,  just  west  of  Dover  Plains  vil- 
lage, is  also  well  worth  a  visit.  Here  a  small  stream  has  worn 
out  a  remarkable  cavern  in  the  rocks  forming  a  gothic  arch  for 
entrance.  It  lies  in  a  wooded  gorge  within  easy  walk  from  the 
village.  Many  years  ago  the  writer  of  this  hand-book  paid  it  an 
afternoon  visit,  and  the  picture  has  remained  impressed  with 
wonderful  vividness.  The  archway  opens  into  a  solid  rock,  and 
a  stream  of  water  issues  from  the  threshold.  On  entering  the 
visitor  is  confronted  by  an  old-fashioned  New  England  pulpit 
reaching  half  way  to  the  ceiling      The  walls  are  almost  pei*- 


THE  HUDSON.  -^g- 

fectly  arched,  and  g-arnished  here  and  there  with  g-reen  moss 
and  white  lichen.  A  rift  in  the  rocks  extends  the  whole  length 
of  the  chapelj  over  which  trees  hang  their  green  foliag-e,  which, 
ever  rustling  and  trembling-,  form  a  trellis-work  with  the  blue  sky, 
while  the  spray  rising-  from  behind  the  rock-worn  altar  seems 
like  the  sprinkling  of  holy  incense.  After  all  these  years  1  still 
hear  the  voice  of  those  dashing  waters  and  dream  again,  as  I  did 
that  day,  of  the  brook  of  Cherith  where  ravens  fed  the  prophet 
of  old.  It  is  said  by  Lossing,  in  his  booklet  on  the  Dover  Stone 
Church,  that  Sacassas,  the  mighty  sachem  of  the  Pequoids  and 
emperor  over  many  tribes  between  the  Thames  and  the  Hudson 
River,  was  compelled  after  a  disastrous  battle  which  annihilated 
his  warriors,  to  fly  for  safety,  and,  driven  from  point  to  point, 
he  at  last  found  refuge  in  this  cave,  where  undiscovered  he  sub- 
sisted for  a  few  days  on  berries,  until  at  last  he  made  his  way 
through  the  territory  of  his  enemies,  the  r^Iahicans,  to  the  land 
of  the  Mohawks. 


166  THE  HUDSON. 


FR0.1«  POUGHKEEPSIE  TO  KINGSTON. 

T  eaving-  the  Poughkeepsie  dock  the  steamer  approaches  the 
Poug-hkeepsie  Bridge  which,  from  Blue  Point  and  miles  be- 
low, has  seemed  to  the  traveler  like  a  delicate  bit  of  lace- 
work  athwart  the  landscape,  or  like  an  old  fashioned  "valance" 
which  used  to  hang  from  Dutch  bedsteads  in  the  Hudson  river 
farm  houses.  This  great  cantilever  structure,  the  pet  scheme 
of  the  late  President  Eastman,  was  begun  in  1873  but  abandoned 
for  several  years.  The  work  was  resumed  in  1886  just  in  time 
to  save  the  charter,  and  was  finished  by  the  Union  Bridge  Com- 
pany in  less  than  three  years.  The  bridge  is  12,608  feet  in 
length  (or  about  two  miles  and  a  half),  the  track  being  212  feet 
above  the  water  with  165  feet  clear  above  the  tide  in  the  centre 
span.  The  breadth  of  the  river  at  this  point  is  3,094  feet.  The 
bridge  cost  over  three  million  dollars  and  is  now  controlled  by 
a  company  which  manages  it  in  the  interest  of  the  Philadelphia 
and  Beading  liailroad.  It  not  only  affords  a  delightful  passen- 
ger route  between  Philadeli)hia  and  Boston,  but  also  brings  the 
coal  centres  of  Pennsylvania  to  the  very  threshold  of  New 
England.  Two  railroads  from  the  east  centre  here,  and  what 
was  once  considered  an  idle  dream,  although  bringing  personal 
loss  to  many  stockholders,  has  been  of  material  prosperity  to 
Poughkeepsie.  It  hardly  seems  twenty  years  ago  since  the 
writer  copied  in  one  of  his  early  Guide  Books  the  following  from 
President  Eastman's  enthusiastic  i)rospectus : 

"The  Hudson  River  is  one  of  the  great  natural  boundaries 
dividing  the  United  States  into  two  grand  divisions  or  sections. 


THE  HUDSON.  169 

The  New  England  States,  east  of  the  Hudson,  including  New 
York  City,  contain  one-seventh  of  the  whole  population  of  the 
United  States,  and  control  more  than  one-half  the  manufacturing 
of  the  nation.  These  States  are  the  most  active  and  wealth}'-, 
and  their  business  interests  and  capital  are  nearly  equal  to  those 
of  all  the  rest  of  the  Union,  The  great  crossing  places  on  the 
Hudson,  over  which  now  pass  all  the  mighty  streams  of  trade 
and  travel  between  this  great  section  of  country  and  the  wider 
and  more  rapidly  growing  West,  are  but  two  :  one  at  Albany  and 
Troy,  the  other  at  New  York/' 

The  route  to  Hartford,  crossing  the  Harlem  and  the  Housa- 
tonic  Bailroads,  is  picturesque  and  delightful.  As  the  steamer 
passes  under  the  bridge  the  traveler  will  see  on  the  left  High- 
land Station  ( TFi:'.s<  Shore  Eailroad)  and  above  this  the  old  land- 
ing of  New  Paltz.  A  well  traveled  road  winds  from  the  ferry 
and  the  station,  up  a  narrow  defile  by  the  side  of  a  dashing 
stream,  broken  here  and  there  in  waterfalls,  on  to  Highland 
Village,  New  Paltz  and  Lako  Mohonk.  The  Bridge  and  Trolley 
Line  from  Poughkeepsie  make  a  most  delightful  excursion  to 
New  Paltz,  on  the  Wall  kill,  seat  of  a  most  successful  Normal 
School,  under  the  principalship  of  Dr.  Frank  S.  Capen. 

Above  Poughkeepsie  are  many  pleasant  lesidences;  promi- 
nent among  them  F.  J.  Allen's,  proprietor  of  the  Astor  House, 
New  York,  the  late  John  F.  Winslow's,  Airs.  Thomas  Newbold's, 
J,  Roosevelt's  and  Archie  Rogers'.  The  large  red  buildings 
above  the  Poughkeepsie  Water  Works  are  the  Hudson  River 
State  Hospital.  Passing  Crum  Elbow  point  on  the  left  and  the 
Sisters  of  the  White  Cross  Orphan  Asylum,  we  see 


170  THE  HUDSON. 

Hyde  Park,  ( 80  miles  from  New  York, )  on  the  east  bank, 
named  some  say,  in  honor  of  Lady  Ann  Hyde  ;  according  to 
others,  after  Sir  Edward  Hyde,  one  of  the  early  British  Gover- 
nors of  the  colony.  The  villag-e  lies  on  a  bluff  one  mile  from  the 
river.  The  first  prominent  place  above  Hyde  Park,  Greek  in 
style,  is  the  residence  of  Walter  Langdon  ;  above  this  a  villa  oi 
the  Italian  order,  known  as  Drayton  Hall.  Then  "GrosBois," 
owned  now  by  Robert  T.  Lord,  formerly  "Placentia,"  the  home 
of  James  K.  Paulding-.  What  a  commentary  on  literary  fame 
and  ambition!  Even  the  name  of  his  house  changed!  Has  it 
come  to  this  that  Paulding  is  only  to  be  remembered  as  a  friend 
of  Washington  Irving  ?  or  as  a  mere  associate  in  writing  some 
of  his  early  essays  ?  And  that  too,  when  a  few  years  ago  he 
was  regarded  the  most  popular  story-teller  of  his  day,  the  author 
of  "  The  Dutchman's  Fireside,"  and  thirty  or  forty  other  novels 
whose  very  names  have  now  passed  from  the  memory  of  his 
friends  and  neighbors. 

Immediately  opposite  "  Placentia,"  at  West  Park  on  the  west 
bank,  is  the  cottage  of  John  Burroughs,  our  sweetest  essayist, 
the  nineteenth  century's  "  White  of  Selborne."  Judge  Barnard 
of  Poughkeepsie  once  said  to  the  author  of  this  hand-book, "  The 
best  writer  America  has  produced  after  Hawthorne  is  John  Bur- 
roughs; I  wish  I  could  see  him."  It  so  happened  that  there  had 
been  an  important  "  bank  "  suit  a  day  or  two  previous  in  Pough- 
keepsie which  was  tried  before  the  Judge  in  which  Mr.  Bur- 
roughs had  appeared  as  a  witness  The  Judge  was  reminded  of 
this  fact  when  he  remarked  with  a  few  emphatic  words,  the  ab- 
sence of  wliich  seems  to  materially  weaken  the  sentence:  "  Was 
that  Burt'oughs  ?    Well,  well,  I  wish  I  had  known  it." 


:  1  te 


THE  HUDSON".  171 

Mouut  Hymettus,  overlooking-  ^Yest  Park,  and  so  named  by 
''the  author  and  naturalist,"  as  it  has  been  to  him  a  successful 
hunting-'g-round  for  bees  and  wild  honey,  has  its  front  door- 
yard,  as  one  might  say,  sloping  down  to  the  river  well  stocked 
with  vines  and  fruit  trees,  and  it  will  be  long  remembered  for 
sweet-er  stores  of  honey  encombed  and  presented  in  living-  type. 
Washington  Irving-  says  of  the  early  poets  of  Britain  that  "  a 
spray  could  not  tremble  in  the  breeze,  or  a  leaf  rustle  to  the 
g-round,  that  was  not  seen  by  these  delicate  observers  and 
wrought  up  into  some  beautiful  morality."'  So  John  Burroughs 
has  studied  the  Hudson  in  all  its  moods,  knowing  well  that  it  is 
not  to  be  wooed  and  won  in  a  sing-le  day.  How  clearly  this  is 
seen  in  his  article  on  ''Our  River,''  published  in  Scribner's 
Magazine  (August,  1880). 

"  Rivers  are  as  various  in  their  forms  as  forest  trees.  The 
Mississippi  is  like  an  oak  with  enormous  branches.  What  a 
branch  is  the  Red  River,  the  Arkansas,  the  Ohio,  the  Missouri ! 
The  Hudson  is  like  the  pine  or  poplar — mainly  trunk.  From 
New  York  to  Albany  there  is  only  an  inconsiderable  limb  or 
two,  and  but  few  gnarls  and  excrescences.  Cut  off  the  Rondout, 
!;he  Esopus,  the  Catskill  and  two  or  three  similar  tributaries  on 
the  east  side,  and  only  some  twigs  remain.  There  are  some 
crooked  places,  it  is  true,  but,  on  the  whole,  the  Hudson  presents 
a  fine,  symmetrical  shaft  that  would  be  hard  to  match  in  any 
river  in  the  world.  Among  our  own  water-courses  it  stands 
preeminent.  The  Columbia — called  by  Major  Winthrop  the 
Achilles  of  rivers — is  a  more  haughty  and  impetuous  stream  ;  the 
Mississippi  is,  of  course,  vastly  larger  and  longer :  the  St.  I^aw- 
ronce  would  carry  the  Hudson  as  a  trophy  in  his  belt  and  hardly 


172  THE  HUDSON. 

know  the  difference  ;  yet  our  river  is  doubtless  the  most  beauti- 
ful of  them  all.  It  pleases  like  a  mountain  lake.  It  has  all  the 
sweetness  and  placidity  that  go  with  such  bodies  of  water,  on 
the  one  hand,  and  all  their  bold  and  rugged  scenery  on  the 
other.  In  summer,  a  passage  up  or  down  its  course  in  one  of  the 
day  steamers  is  as  near  an  idyl  of  travel  as  can  be  had,  perhaps, 
anywhere  in  the  world.  Then  its  permanent  and  uniform  vol- 
ume, its  fullness  and  equipoise  at  all  seasons,  and  its  gently- 
flowing  currents  give  it  further  the  character  of  a  lake,  or  of  the 
sea  itself.  Of  the  Hudson  it  may  be  said  that  it  is  a  very  large 
river  for  its  size, — that  is  for  the  quantity  of  water  it  discharges 
into  the  sea.  Its  water-shed  is  comparatively  small— less,  I 
think,  than  that  of  the  Connecticut.  It  is  a  huge  trough  with  a 
very  slight  incline,  through  which  the  current  moves  very 
slowly,  and  which  would  fill  from  the  sea  were  its  supplies  from 
the  mountains  cut  off.  Its  fall  from  Albany  to  the  bay  is  only 
about  five  feet.  Any  object  upon  it,  drifting  with  the  current, 
progresses  southward  no  more  than  eight  miles  in  twenty-four 
hours.  The  ebb-tide  will  carry  it  about  twelve  miles  and  the 
flood  set  it  back  from  seven  to  nine.  A  drop  of  water  at  Albany, 
therefore,  will  be  nearly  three  weeks  in  reaching  New  York, 
though  it  will  get  pretty  well  pickled  some  days  earlier.  Some 
rivers  by  their  volume  and  impetuosity  penetrate  the  sea,  but 
here  the  sea  is  the  aggressor,  and  sometimes  meets  the  mount- 
ain water  nearly  half  way.  This  fact  was  illustrated  a  cou])le 
of  years  ago,  when  the  basin  of  the  Hudson  was  visited  by  ono 
of  the  most  severe  droughts  ever  known  in  this  part  of  the  State. 
In  the  early  winter  after  the  river  was  frozen  over  above  Pough- 
keepsie,  it  was  discovered  that  immense  numbers  of  fish  wero 


THE  HUDSON.  I73 

retreating-  up  stream  before  the  slow  encroachment  of  salt 
water.  There  was  a  general  exodus  of  the  finny  tribes  from  the 
whole  lower  part  of  the  river  ;  it  was  like  the  spring-  and  fall 
migration  of  the  birds,  or  the  fleeing-  of  the  population  of  a  dis- 
trict before  some  apjjroaching-  danger :  vast  swarms  of  cat-fish, 
white  and  yellow  perch  and  striped  bass  were  en  route  for  the 
fresh  water  farther  north.  When  the  people  along  shore  made 
the  discovery,  they  turned  out  as  they  do  in  the  rural  districts 
when  the  pigeons  appear,  and,  with  small  gill-nets  let  down 
through  holes  in  the  ice,  captured  them  in  fabulous  numbers. 
On  the  heels  of  the  retreating  perch  and  cat-fish  came  the  deni- 
zens of  the  salt  water,  and  codfish  were  taken  ninety  miles  above 
New  York.  When  the  February  thaw  came  and  brought  up 
the  volume  of  fresh  water  again,  the  sea  brine  was  beaten  back, 
and  the  fish,  what  were  left  of  them,  resumed  their  old  feeding- 
grounds. 

It  is  this  character  of  the  Hudson,  this  encroachment  of  the 
sea  upon  it,  that  led  Professor  Newberry  to  speak  of  it  as  a 
drowned  river.  We  have  heard  of  drowned  lands,  but  here  is  a 
river  overflowed  and  submerged  in  the  same  manner.  It  is 
quite  certain,  however,  that  this  has  not  always  been  the  char- 
acter of  the  Hudson.  Its  great  trough  bears  evidence  of  having 
been  worn  to  its  present  dimensions  by  much  swifter  and 
stronger  currents  than  those  that  course  through  it  now. 
Hence,  Professor  Newberry  has  recently  advanced  the  bold  and 
striking  theory  that  in  pre-glacial  times  this  part  of  the  conti- 
nent was  several  hundred  feet  higher  than  at  present,  and  that 
the  Hudson  was  then  a  very  large  and  rapid  stream,  that  drew 
its  main  supplies  from  the  basin  of  the  Great  Lakes  through  an 


174  I^HE  HUDSON. 

ancient  river-bed  that  followed,  pretty  nearly,  the  line  of  the 
present  Mohawk  ;  in  other  words,  that  the  waters  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  once  found  an  outlet  through  this  channel  debouching 
into  the  ocean  from  a  broad,  littoral  plain,  at  a  point  eighty 
miles  south-east  of  New  York,  Avhere  the  sea  now  rolls  500  feet 
deep.  According  to  the  soundings  of  the  coast  survey,  this  an- 
cient bed  of  the  Hudson  is  distinctly  marked  upon  the  ocean 
floor  to  the  point  indicated.  To  the  gradual  subsidence  of  this 
part  of  the  continent,  in  connection  with  the  great  changes 
wrought  by  the  huge  glacier  that  crept  down  from  the  north 
during  what  is  called  the  ice  period,  is  owing  the  character  and 
aspects  of  the  Hudson  as  we  see  and  know  them.  The  Mohawk 
Valley  was  filled  up  by  the  drift,  the  Great  Lakes  scooped  out,  and 
an  opening  for  their  pent-up  waters  found  through  what  is  now 
the  St.  Lawrence.  The  trough  of  the  Hudson  was  also  partially 
filled  and  has  remained  so  to  the  present  day.  There  is,  i)erhaps, 
no  point  in  the  river  where  the  mud  and  clay  are  not  from  two 
to  three  times  as  deep  as  the  water.  That  ancient  and  grander 
Hudson  lies  back  of  us  several  hundred  thousand  years — perhaps 
more,  for  a  million  years  are  but  as  one  tick  of  the  time-piece  of 
the  Lord  ;  yet  even  it  was  a  juvenile  compared  with  some  of  the 
rocks  and  mountains  which  the  Hudson  of  to-day  mirrors.  The 
Highlands  date  from  the  earliest  geological  race — the  i)rimary  ; 
the  river^ — the  old  river — from  the  latest,  the  tertiary ;  and 
what  that  diffei-ence  means  in  terrestrial  years  hath  not  entered 
into  the  mind  of  man  to  conceive.  Yet  how  the  venerable 
mountains  open  their  ranks  for  the  stripling  to  pass  through. 
Of  coursf!,  the  I'ivcn*  did  not  forces  its  way  through  this  barrier, 
but  has  doubtless  found  an  ()])ening  there  of  which  it  has  availed 


THE  HUDSON.  i75 

itself,  and  which  it  has  enlarged.  In  thinking-  of  these  things, 
one  only  has  to  allow  time  enough,  and  the  most  stupendous 
changes  in  the  topography  of  the  country  are  as  easy  and  nat- 
ural as  the  going  out  or  the  coming  in  of  spring  or  summer. 
According  to  the  authority  above  referred  to,  that  part  of  our 
coast  that  flanks  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson  is  still  sinking  at  the 
rate  of  a  few  inches  per  century,  so  that  in  the  twinkling  of  a 
hundred  thousand  years  or  so,  the  sea  will  completely  submerge 
the  city  of  New  York,  the  top  of  Trinity  Church  steeple  alone 
standing  above  the  flood.  We  who  live  so  far  inland,  and  sigh 
for  the  salt  water,  need  only  to  have  a  little  i)atience,  and  we 
shall  wake  up  some  fine  morning  and  find  the  surf  beating  upon 
our  door-steps.'' 

The  Frothingham  residence  and  Frothingham  dock  are  south 
of  the  Burroughs  cottage.  General  Butterfield's  house  imme- 
diately to  the  north.  The  old  Astor  place  (once  known  as  Wal- 
dorf) is  also  near  at  hand.  In  our  Guide  Book  analysis  of  the 
Hudson  published  many  years  ago  and  still  retained,  we  refer  to 
the  hills  above  and  below  Poughkeepsie  as  "  The  Picturesque." 
Any  one  walking  or  driving  from  Highland  village  to  West 
Park  will  feel  that  this  is  a  proper  distinction.  The  Palisades  are 
distinguished  for  "  grandeur  "'  which  might  be  defined  as  ''  hori- 
zontal sublimity."  The  Highlands  for  "  sublimity  "  which  might 
be  termed  "perpendicular  grandeur  ;"  the  Catskills  for  "  beauty," 
with  their  rounded  form  and  ever  changing  hues,  but  the  river 
scenery  about  Poughkeepsie  abides  in  our  memories  as  a  series 
of  bright  and  charming  "  pictures."  North  of  General  Butter- 
field's  residence  is  Pelham,  consisting  of  1,200  acres  belonging  to 
Robert  L.  Pell,  one  of  the  largest  fruit  shippers  in  the  world. 


176  THE  HUDSON. 

Passing-  Esopus  Island,  which  seems  like  a  great  stranded  and 
petrified  whale,  along  whose  sides  often  cluster  Lilliputian-like 
canoeists,  we  see  Brown's  Dock  on  the  west  bank  at  the  mouth  of 
Black  Creek,  rising  within  eight  miles  of  Newburgh  on  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  Plattekill  Mountains.  Flowing  through 
Black  Pond,  known  by  the  Dutch  settlers  as  the  "  Grote  Binne- 
water,'"  it  cascades  its  way  along  the  southei'n  slope  of  the 
Shaupeneak  Mountains  to  Esopus  Village,  a  cross-road  hamlet, 
and  thence  carries  to  the  Hudson  its  waters  dark-stained  by 
companionship  with  trees  of  hemlock  and  cedar  growth.  The 
Pell  property  extends  on  the  west  bank  to  Pell's  Dock,  almost 
opposite  the  Staatsburgh  ice-houses.  Mrs.  Livingston's  resi- 
dence will  now  be  seen  on  the  east  bank,  and  just  above  this  the 
home  of  the  late  William  B,  Dinsmore  on  Dinsmore  Point. 
Passing-  Vanderberg  Cove,  cut  off  from  the  river  by  the  tracks  of 
the  Neiv  York  Central  Bdilroad,  we  see  the  residence  of  Jacob 
Ruppert,  and  above  this  the  Frinck  mansion  known  as  "  Winder- 
cliffe,"  formerly  the  property  of  E.  R.  Jones,  and  next  beyond  the 
house  of  Robert  Suckly.  Passing  Ellerslie  Dock  we  see  "  Ellers 
lie,"  the  palatial  summer  home  of  Ex- Vice-President  Levi  P. 
Morton,  an  estate  of  six  hundred  acres,  formerly  owned  by  the 
Hon.  William  Kelly.  Along  the  western  bank  extend  the 
Esopus  meadows,  a  low  flat,  covered  by  water,  the  southern  end 
of  which  is  marked  by  the  Esoi)us  light-house.  To  the  west  rises 
Hussey's  mountain,  about  one  thousand  feet  in  height,  from  un- 
der whose  eastern  slope  two  little  ])()nds.  known  as  Binnewaters, 
send  another  stream  to  join  Black  Creek  before  it  flows  into  the 
Hudson.  Port  Ewen  on  the  west  bank,  with  ice-houses  and 
brick-yards,  will  l)e  seen  by  steamer  passengers  below  the  mouth 
of  Rondout  Creek. 


THE  HUDSON.  177 

Rliiueclifr,  90  miles  from  New  York.  The  villag-e  of  Rhine- 
beck,  two  miles  east  of  the  landing-  (population  1,649),  is  not  seen 
from  the  river.  It  was  named,  as  some  contend,  by  combining- 
two  words — Beekman  and  Rhine.  Others  say  that  the  word 
beck  means  cliff,  and  the  town  was  so  named  from  the  resem- 
blance of  the  cliffs  to  those  of  the  Rhine.  There  are  many  de- 
lightful drives  in  and  about  Rhinebeck,  '"Ellerslie"  being  only 
about  eight  minutes  by  carriage  from  the  landing. 

Tlie  Philadelphia  &  Reading  Rhinebeck  Branch  meets  the  Hudson 
at  Rhinecliff,  and  makes  a  pleasant  and  convenient  tourist  or 
business  route  between  the  Hudson  and  the  Connecticut.  It 
passes  through  a  delightful  country  and  thriving  rural  villages. 
Some  of  the  views  along  the  Roeliffe  Jansen's  Kill  are  unrivaled 
in  quiet  beauty.  The  railroad  passes  through  Rhinebeck,  Red 
Hook,  Spring  Lake,  EUerslie,  Jackson  Corners,  Mount  Ross, 
Gallatinville,  Ancram,  Copake,  Boston  Corners,  and  Mount 
Riga  to  State  Line  Junction,  and  gives  a  person  a  good  idea  of 
the  counties  of  Dutchess  and  Columbia.  At  Boston  Corners 
connection  is  made  with  the  ^eiv  Yo7'k  &  Harlem  Railroad. 

From  State  Line  Junction  it  passes  through  Ore  Hill,  Lake- 
ville,  with  its  beautiful  lake  (an  evening  view  of  which  is  still 
hung  in  our  memory  gallery  of  sunset  sketches),  Salisbury,  Cha- 
pinville,  and  Twin  Lakes  to  Canaan,  where  the  line  crosses  the 
Hoiuiatonic  Railroad.  This  route,  therefore,  is  the  easiest  and 
pieasantest  for  Housatonic  visitors  en  route  to  the  Catskills. 
From  Canaan  the  road  rises  by  easy  grade  to  the  summit,  at  an 
elevation  of  1,40<)  feet,  passing  through  the  village  of  Norfolk, 
with  its  picturesque  New  England  church  crowning  the  village 
hill. 


178  THE  HUDSON. 

From  the  summit  we  pass  through  the  prosperous  villages  of 
West  Winsted  and  Winsted  ;  through  the  picturesque  valleys  of 
New  Hartford,  Pine  Meadow,  Collinsville,  and  Canton  to  Sims- 
bury,  a  cultured  village  in  charming  rural  setting. 

From  Simsbury  a  run  of  half  an  hour  takes  the  tourist  through 
Hoskins,  Tariffville,  Scotland,  Bloomfield,  and  Cottage  Grove  to 
Hartford,  the  prosperous  and  enterprising  capital  of  Connecticut. 
At  Hartford  connections  are  made  with  the  yew  York,  TVeiu  Ha- 
ven &  Haiiford  Railroad,  with  Xcic  York  &  New  England  and 
Hartford  &  Connecticut  Valley  Baihcays;  at  Simsbury,  with  New 
Haven  &  Noiihampton  Bailroad ;  and  at  Winsted,  with  Naugatuck 
Bailroad.    Few  routes  present  more  varied  or  beautiful  scenery. 

The  City  of  Kingston  (population  21,495).  Rondout  and 
the  old  city  of  Kingston  gradually  grew  together  until  the  bans 
were  performed  in  1878,  and  a  "bow-knot"  tied  at  the  top  of  the 
hill  in  the  shape  of  a  City  Hall,  making  them  one  corporation. 

The  name  Rondout  had  its  derivation  from  a  redoubt  that 
was  built  on  the  banks  of  the  creek.  The  creek  took  the  name 
of  Redoubt  Kill,  afterward  Rundoubt,  and  at  last  Rondout. 
Kingston  was  once  called  Esopus.  (The  Indian  name  for  the  spot 
where  the  city  now  stands  was  At-kar-karton,  the  great  plot  or 
meadow  on  which  they  raised  corn  or  beans.) 

Kingston  was  settled  in  1614,  and  thrice  destroyed  by  the  In- 
dians before  the  Revolution.  In  1777  the  State  Legislature  met 
here  and  formed  a  constitution.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year, 
after  the  capture  of  Fort  Montgomery  and  Fort  Clinton  by 
the  British,  Vaughan  landed  at  Rondout,  marched  to  Kingston, 
and  burned  the  town.  While  Kingston  was  burning,  the  in- 
habitants tied  to  Hurley,  where  a  small  force  of  Americans  hung 


THE  HUDSON.  179 

a  messenger  who  was  caught  carrying  dispatches  from  Clinton 
to  Burgoyne. 

Rondout  is  the  termination  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Ca- 
nal (whence  canal  boats  of  coal  find  their  way  from  the  Pennsyl- 
vania mountains  to  tide-water),  also  of  the  Z^lster  and  Delaware 
Railroad,  by  which  people  find  their  way  from  tide-water  to 
the  Catskill  Mountains,  which  have  greeted  the  eye  of  the 
tourist  for  many  miles  down  the  Hudson.  Originally  all  of  the 
country-side  in  this  vicinity  was  known  as  Esopus,  supposed  to 
be  derived,  according  to  Ruttenber,  from  the  Indian  word 
*'  seepus,"  a  river.  A  "  sopus  Indian  ''  was  a  Lowlander,  and  the 
name  is  intimately  connected  with  c^  long  reach  of  territory 
from  Esopus  village,  near  West  Park,  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Esopus  at  Saugerties.  In  1075  the  mouth  of  the  Rondout 
Creek  was  chosen  by  the  New  Netherland  Company  as  one 
of  the  three  fortified  trading  ports  on  the  Hudson ;  a  stock' 
ade  was  built  under  the  guidance  of  General  Stuyvesant  in 
1661  inclosing  the  site  of  old  Kingston  ;  a  charter  was  granted 
in  1658  under  the  name  of  Wiltwyck,  but  changed  in  1679  to 
Kingston.  Few  cities  are  so  well  off  for  old-time  houses  that 
span  the  century,  and  there  is  no  congregation  probably  in  the 
United  States  that  has  worshipped  so  many  consecutive  years  in 
the  same  spot  as  the  Dutch  Reformed  people  of  Kingston. 
Five  buildings  have  succeeded  the  log  church  of  240  years 
ago.  Dr.  Van  Slyke,  in  a  recent  welcome,  said  :  "This  church, 
which  opens  her  doors  to  you,  claims  a  distinction  which  does 
not  belong  even  to  the  Collegiate  Dutch  Churches  of  Manhattan 
Island,  and,  by  a  peculiar  history,  stands  identified  more  closely 
with  Holland  than  any  other  of  the  early  churches  of  this  country. 


180  THE   HUDSON. 

When  every  other  church  of  our  communion  had  for  a  long-  time 
been  associated  with  an  American  Synod,  this  church  retained 
its  relations  to  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam,  and,  after  a  period  of 
independency  and  isolation,  it  finally  allied  itself  with  its  Ameri- 
can sisterhood  as  late  as  the  year  1808.  We  still  have  three  or 
four  members  whose  life  began  before  that  date." 

Dominie  Blom  was  the  first  preacher  in  King-ston.  The  church 
where  he  preached  and  the  congregation  that  gathered  to  hear 
him  have  been  tenderly  referred  to  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Belcher ; 

"  They've  journeyed  on  from  touch  and  tone  ; 

No  more  their  ears  shall  hear 
The  war-whoop  wild,  or  sad  death  moan, 

Or  words  of  fervid  prayer  ; 
But  the  deeds  they  did  and  plans  they  planned, 

And  paths  of  hlood  they  trod, 
Have  blessed  and  brightened  all  this  land 

And  hallowed  it  for  God." 

The  Senate  House,  built  in  1676  by  Wessel  Ten  Broeck,  who 
would  seem  by  his  name  to  have  stepped  bodily  out  of  a  chapter 
of  Knickerbocker,  was  "burned"  but  not  "down,"  for  its  walls 
stood  firm.  It  was  afterwards  repaired,  and  sheltered  many 
dwellera,  among  others,  General  Armstrong,  Secretary  of  War 
under  President  Madison.  The  Provincinal  Convention  met  in 
the  Court  House  at  Kingston  in  1777  and  the  Constitution  was 
formally  announced  April  22d  of  that  year.  The  first  court  was 
held  hare  September  9th  and  the  first  legislature  September 
lOth.  Adjourning  Oct.  7th  they  convened  again  August  18th, 
1775),  and  in  1780,  from  April  22d  to  July  2d,  also  for  two 
months  beginning  January  27,  1783. 

It  was  in  the  yard  in  f)-ont  of  tb(>  Court  House  that  the  Con- 


THE  HUDSON. 

stitution  of  the  State  was  proclaimed  by  Robert  Berrian,  the 
secretary  of  the  Constitutional  convention,  and  it  was  there  that 
George  Clinton,  the  first  governor  of  the  State,  was  inaugurated 
and  took  the  oath  of  office.  It  was  in  the  Court  House  that  John 
Jay,  Chief  Justice,  delivered  his  memorable  charge  to  the  grand 
jury  in  September,  1777,  and  at  the  opening  said  :  "  Gentlemen, 
it  affords  me  very  sensible  pleasure  to  congratulate  you  on  the 
dawn  of  that  free,  mild,  and  equal  government  which  now  be- 
gins to  rise  and  break  from  amidst  the  clouds  of  anarchy,  con- 
fusion and  licentiousness,  which  the  arbitrary  and  violent  domi- 
nation of  the  King  of  Great  Britain  has  spread,  in  greater  or 
less  degree,  throughout  this  and  other  American  states.  And 
it  gives  me  particular  satisfaction  to  remark  that  the  first  fruits 
of  our  excellent  constitution  appear  in  a  part  of  this  State  whose 
inhabitants  have  distinguished  themselves  by  having  unani- 
mously endeavored  to  deserve  them."  The  Court  House  bell  was 
originally  imported  from  Holland. 

The  burning  of  Kingston  seemed  unnecessarily  cruel,  and  it 
is  said  that  Vaughan  was  wide  of  the  truth  when,  to  justify 
the  same,  he  claimed  that  he  had  been  fired  upon  from  dwellings 
in  the  village.  General  Sharpe  in  his  admirable  address  before 
the  Holland  Society  gives  a  happy  summary  of  the  history  of 
Kingston  :  '"The  history  of  this  county  begins  to  be  interesting 
at  the  earliest  stages  of  American  history.  The  Duke  of  York 
was  Duke  of  Albany  in  Scotland  and  Earl  of  Ulster  in  Ire- 
land, and  when,  in  after  years,  this  town  was  divided,  a  Royal 
Governor  named  the  i)ortion  which  was  cut  off  from  it,  because 
he  was  Baron  Lovelace,  of  Hurley.  I  may  add  that  the  title  of 
Lovelace,  of  Hurley,  having  become  extinct,  that  of  Lovelace 


183  THE  HUDSON. 

was  ag-ain  created  in  1838,  in  favor  of  William  Lord  King",  who 
married  Ada,  the  only  child  of  George  Gordon,  Lord  Byron. 
Visited  by  Dutchmen  in  1614,  and  ag-ain  in  1620,  it  was  in  the 
very  earliest  Colonial  history,  one  of  the  strong  places  of  the 
Province  of  New  York.  The  British  museum  contains  the  re- 
port of  the  Rev.  John  Miller,  written  in  the  year  1695,  who, 
after  '  having-  been  nearly  three  years  resident  in  the  Province 
of  New  York,  in  America,  as  Chaplain  of  His  Majesty's  forces 
there,  and  constantly  attending  the  Governor,  had  opportunity" 
of  observing  many  things  of  considerable  consequence  in  rela- 
tion to  the  Christians  and  Indians,  and  had  also  taken  the  drafts 
of  all  the  cities,  towns,  forts  and  churches  of  any  note  within  the 
same.'  These  are  his  own  words,  and  he  adds  that  in  the 
Province  of  New  York  'the  places  of  strength  are  chiefly  three, 
the  City  of  New  York,  the  City  of  Albany,  and  the  Town  of 
Kingstone,  in  Ulster.'  I  have  copied  the  map  of  the  stockade 
enclosure  which  made  the  fortified  boundaries  of  the  town.  The 
east,  north  and  west  fronts  ran  along  elevations  overlooking  the 
lowlands  and  having  a  varying  altitude  of  from  twenty  to  thirty 
feet.  The  enclosure  comprehended  about  twenty-five  acres  of 
land.  There  were  salients,  or  horn  works  at  each  end  of  the 
four  angles,  with  a  circular  projection  at  the  middle  of  the 
westerly  side,  where  the  elevation  was  less  than  upon  the 
northerly  and  easterly  sides.  The  Church  standing  upon  the 
ground  where  we  now  are  was  enclosed  with  a  separate 
stockade,  to  be  used  as  the  last  resort  in  case  of  disaster,  and, 
projecting  from  this  separate  fortification,  a  strong  block-houso 
commanded  and  enfiladed  the  approaches  to  the  southerly  side, 
which   was  a  i)lain.     The    local    history   is  of    continued   and 


THE  HUDSON.  183 

dramatic  interest.  The  Indian  wars  were  sig-nalized  by  a 
great  uprising  and  attack  here,  which  was  known  as  the  war  of 
1663,  when  a  considerable  number  of  the  inhabitants  were  killed, 
a  still  larger  number  were  taken  prisoners,  and  about  one-fourth 
of  the  houses  were  burned  to  the  ground.  Reinforcements  were 
sent  by  the  Governor  General  from  New  Amsterdam,  followed 
by  his  personal  presence,  when  the  Indians  were  driven  back  to 
the  mountains,  and,  after  a  tedious  campaign,  their  fields 
destroyed  and  the  prisoners  recaptured.  When  the  next  great 
crisis  in  our  history  came  Kingston  bore  a  conspicuous  part.  It 
was  the  scene  of  the  formation  of  the  State  Government.  The 
Constitution  was  here  discussed  and  adopted.  George  Clinton 
was  called  from  the  Highlands,  v/here,  as  a  Brigadier  General 
of  the  Continental  Army,  he  was  commanding  all  the  forces 
upon  the  Hudson  River,  which  were  opposing  the  attempts  of 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  to  reach  the  northern  part  of  the  State  and 
relieve  Burgoyne,  hemmed  in  by  Gates  at  Saratoga.  He  was 
the  ideal  war  Governor — unbuckling  his  sword  in  the  Court 
Room,  that  he  might  take  the  oath  of  office,  and  returning, 
immediately  after  the  simple  form  of  his  inauguration,  to  his 
command  upon  the  Hudson  River. 

"The  Court  House,  standing  opposite  to  us,  and  rebuilt  upon 
its  old  foundations,  and  occupying,  substantially,  the  same  super- 
ficies of  ground  with  its  predecessors,  recalls  the  dramatic 
scene  where,  surrounded  by  the  Council  of  Safety,  and  in  a 
square  formed  by  two  companies  of  soldiers,  he  was  proclaimed 
Governor  by  Egbert  Dumond,  the  Sheriff  of  the  County,  reading 
his  proclamation  from  the  top  of  a  barrel,  and  closing  it  with 
the  words  'God  save  the  people,'  for  the  first  time  taking  the 


184  THE  HUDSON. 

place  of  'God  save  the  King-.'  The  only  building  in  any  way 
connected  with  the  civil  foundation  of  this  great  State  is  still 
standing,  and  presents  the  same  appearance  that  it  did  at  the 
time  of  its  erection,  prior  to  the  year  1690.  It  was  subsequently 
occupied  by  General  Armstrong,  who,  while  residing  here  for 
the  better  education  of  his  children,  in  Kingston  Academy,  was 
appointed  Minister  to  France.  Aaron  Burr,  then  in  attendance 
upon  court,  spent  an  evening  with  General  Armstrong,  at  his 
house,  and,  having  observed  the  merit  of  sundry  sketches,  made 
inquiry  with  regard  to,  and  interested  himself  in  the  fate  of, 
John  Vanderlyn,  who  afterwards  painted  the  Landing  of  Colum- 
bus in  the  Capitol,  and  Marius  upon  the  Ruins  of  Carthage — 
which  attracted  the  attention  of  the  elder  Napoleon,  and  estab- 
lished Vanderlyn's  fame.  There  are  more  than  forty  blue  lime- 
stone houses,  of  the  general  type  found  in  Holland,  still  stand- 
ing to-day,  which  were  built  before  the  Revolutionary  period, 
and  many  of  them  before  the  year  1700." 

Coal,  cement  and  blue-stone  are  the  prominent  industries  of 
the  city.  The  cement  works  yield  over  two  million  dollars 
annually  and  employ  about  two  thousand  men.  Over  three 
million  barrels  are  manufactured  here,  required  for  shipment 
of  the  same.  Almost  a  million  tons  of  coal  enter  the  Hudson 
via  the  Port  of  Rondout  from  the  Wyoming  Valley  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Blue-stone  also  meets  tide-water  at  this  point,  brought 
in  from  quarries  throughout  the  country  by  rail  or  by  truck. 
The  City  of  Kingston,  the  largest  station  on  the  West  SJwre 
between  Weehawken  and  Albany,  has  admirable  railroad  fa- 
cilities connecting  with  the  Erie  lidilway  at  Goshen  via  theWall- 
Mll  VaU/fy.  and  the  Catskills  via  the  Ulster  d-  Delaware.    All  roads 


THE   HUDSON.  185 

centre  at  the  Union  Station  and  the  Ulster  &  Delaware  connects 
at  Kingston  Point  with  the  Hudson  River  Day  Line,  also  with 
the  New  York  Central  by  ferry  from  Rhinebeck.  Rondout  is  the 
starting-point  of  the  "Mary  Powell,"  the  "Baldwin"  and  the 
"Romer." 

To  tlie  Catskills.— The  two  principal  routes  to  the  Catskills 
are  via  Kingston  and  the  Ulster  d-  Delaware  Railroad,  and  via 
Catskill  Landing,  the  Catskill  Mountain  Railway  and  the  Otis 
Elevating  Railway  to  the  summit  of  the  mountains.  It  has  oc- 
curred to  the  writer  to  divide  the  mountain  section  in  two  parts: 

Tlie  Soutliern  Catskills.— Kingston  Point,  where  the 
steamer  lands  is  indeed  q,  picturesque  portal  to  a  picturesque  journey 
The  beautiful  park  which  has  sprung  up  like  magic  at  the  touch 
of  Col.  Coykendall,  as  he  is  familiarly  known  along  the  Hudson, 
presents  the  most  beautiful  frontage  of  any  pleasure  ground 
along  the  river.  Artistic  pagodas  located  at  effective  points 
add  greatly  to  the  natural  landscape  (  "^t,  and  excursionists 
from  Albany  and  the  North  have  a  delightful  spot  for  lunch 
and  recreation  while  waiting  for  the  return  steamer.  In  the 
busy  months  of  mountain  travel  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  rush 
and  hurry  between  the  landing  of  the  steamer  and  the  depart- 
ure of  the  train.  The  "  all  aboard  "  is  given,  and  as  we  stand 
on  the  rear  platform  a  friend  points  north  to  a  bluff"  near  Kings- 
ton Point  and  qp,ys  the  Indian  name  is  "Ponckhockie" — signi- 
fying a  burial-ground.  The  old  redoubts  of  Kingston,  on  the 
left,  were  defenses  used  in  early  days  against  the  Indians. 

After  leaving  Kingston  Union  Depot,  the  most  important 
station  on  the  West  Shore  Railroad,  and  the  terminus  of  the 
Wallkill  Valley  Railroad,  the  next  station  is   Stony  Hollow. 


186  THE  HUDSON. 

eig-ht  miles  from  Rondout,  and  the  traveler  will  note  the  stone 
tracks  in  the  turnpike  below,  on  the  right  side  of  the  car,  used 
by  quarry  wagons.  Crossing  the  Stony  Hollow  ravine,  we  reach 
West  Hurley,  nine  miles  from  Rondout  and  540  feet  above  the  sea. 

Tlie  Overlook  commands  an  extensive  view, — with  an  area 
of  30,000  square  miles,  from  the  peaks  of  New  Hampshire  and 
the  Green  Mountains  oi  Vermont  to  the  hills  of  New  Jersey 
and  Pennsylvania.  To  the  east  the  valley  reaches  away  with 
its  towns  and  villages  to  the  blue  hills  of  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut,  and,  through  this  beautiful  valley,  the  Hudson 
for  a  hundred  miles  is  reduced  to  a  mere  ribbon  of  light. 
Woodstock,  al  the  foot  of  Overlook,  is  popular  with  summer 
visitors,  and  is  a  good  starting  point  for  the  mountain  outlook. 

Olive  Brancb  is  the  pretty  name  of  the  next  station  to 
West  Hurley.  Temple  Pond,  at  the  foot  of  Big  Toinge  Moun- 
tain, covers  about  one  handred  acres,  and  atTords  boati:  g  and 
fishing  to  those  visiting  the  foothills  of  the  Southern  Catskills. 

Brown's  Station  is  three  miles  beyond,  and  near  at  hand 
WinchelFs  Falls  on  the  Esopus.  The  Esopus  Creek  comes  in 
view  near  this  station  for  the  first  time  after  leaving  Kingston. 
The  route  now  has  pleasant  companionship  for  twenty  miles  or 
more  with  the  winding  stream. 

Brodliead's  Bridg^e  is  delightfully  located  on  its  wooded 
banks  near  the  base  of  High  Point,  and  near  at  hand  is  a  bright 
cascade  known  as  Biidal  Veil  Falls. 

Shokan,  (18  miles  from  Rondout).  Here  the  road  takes  a 
northerly  course  and  we  are  advised  by  Mr.  Van  Loan's  Guide 
to  notice  on  the  left  "  a  groii])  of  live  mountains  forming  a  cres- 
cent ;  the  peaks  of  these  mountains  are  four  miles  distant;"  the 


THE   HUDSON.  181 

right-hand  one  is  the  "Wittenberg-,''  and  the  next  "Mount 
Cornell."  Boiceville  and  Mount  Pleasant,  700  feet  above  the 
Hudson,  are  next  reached.  We  enter  the  beautiful  Shandaken 
Valley,  and  three  miles  of  charming  mountain  scenery  bring 
us  to — 

Ptioenicia,  29  miles  from  Rondout  and  790  feet  above  the 
Hudson.  This  is  one  of  the  central  points  of  the  Catskills 
which  the  mountain  streams  (Nature's  engineers)  indicated 
several  thousand  years  ago.  Readers  of  "  Hiawatha  "  will  re- 
member that  Gitche  Manitou,  the  mighty,  traced  with  his  finger 
the  way  the  streams  and  rivers  should  run.  The  tourist  will  be 
apt  to  think  that  he  used  his  thumb  in  marking  out  the  wild 
grandeur  of  Stony  Clove.  The  Tremper  House  has  a  pictur- 
esque location  in  a  charming  valley,  which  seems  to  have  been 
cut  to  fit,  like  a  beautiful  carpet,  and  tacked  down  to  the  edge 
of  these  grand  old  mountains  A  fifteen  minutes'  walk  up 
Mount  Tremper  gives  a  wide  view,  from  which  the  Lake 
Mohonk  House  is  sometimes  seen,  forty  miles  away.  Phoenicia 
18  one  of  the  most  important  stations  on  the  line — the  southern 
terminus  of  the  Stony  Clove  and  Catskill  Mountain  Division  of 
the  Ulster  &  Delaware  System.  Keeping  to  the  main  line  for 
the  present  we  pass  through  AUaben,  formerly  known  as  Fox 
Hollow,  and  come  to — 

Sbandaken,  (35  miles  from  Rondout  and  1,060  feet  in  alti- 
tude) an  Indian  name  signifying  "rapid  water.''  Here  are 
large  hotels  and  many  boarding  houses  and  the  town  is  a  cen~ 
tral  point  for  many  mountain  spots  and  shady  retreats  in  every 
direction — all  of  which  are  well  described  in  one  of  the  hand- 
somest Summer  Resort  Guides  of  the  season,  the  Hand-book 


188  THE  HUDSON. 

of  the  Ulster  *fc  Delaware  R.  R.  Three  miles  beyond  Shan- 
daken  we  come  to  a  little  station  whose  name  reminds  one  of 
the  plains  :     Big  Indian,  (1,209  feet  above  the  river.) 

Big  Indian.— It  is  said  that  about  a  century  ago,  a  noble 
red  man  dwelt  in  these  parts,  who,  early  in  life,  turned  his 
attention  to  agriculture  instead  of  scalping,  and  won  thereby 
the  respect  of  the  community.  Tradition  has  it  that  he  was 
about  seven  feet  in  height,  but  was  overpowered  by  wolves, 
and  was  buried  by  his  brethern  not  far  from  the  station, 
where  a  "big  Indian"  was  carved  out  of  a  tree  near  by 
for  his  monument.  An  old  and  reliable  inhabitant  stated 
that  he  remembered  the  rude  statue  well,  and  often  thought 
that  it  ought  to  be  saved  for  a  relic,  as  the  stream  was  washing 
away  the  roots:  but  it  was  finally  carried  down  by  a  freshet,  and 
probably  found  its  w^ay  to  some  fire-place  in  the  Esopus  valley. 
*•  So  man  passes  away,  as  with  a  flood."  There  is  another  tale, 
one  of  love  but  less  romantic,  wherein  he  was  killed  by  his  rival 
and  placed  upright  in  a  hollow  tree.  Perhaps  neither  tradition 
is  true,  and  quite  possibly  the  Big  Indian  name  grew  out  of 
€ome  misunderstanding  between  the  Indians  and  w'hite  settlers 
over  a  hundred  years  ago.  As  the  train  leaves  the  station  it 
begins  a  grade  of  150  feet  per  mile  to  — 

Pine  Hill,  a  station  perched  on  the  slope  of  Belle  Ayr 
Mountain.  This  is  the  watershed  between  the  Esopus  and  the 
Delaware,  and  226  ft^.et  above  us,  around  the  arcs  of  a  double 
horseshoe,  is  the  railway  summit,  1,880  feet  above  the  tide. 

Grand  Hotel  Station.  The  New^  Grand,  the  second  larg- 
est hotel  in  the  Catskills,  with  a  great  frontage  of  700  feet, 
stands  on  a  commantling  terrace  less  than  half  a  mile  from  the 


THE  HUDSON.  18^ 

station.  The  main  building  faces  southwest  and  overlooks  the 
hamlet  of  Pine  Hill,  down  the  Shandaken  Valley  to  Big-  Indian^ 
The  mountains,  "grouped  like  giant  kings"  in  the  distance, 
are  Slide  Mountain,  Panther  Mountain,  Table  and  Balsam 
Mountains.  Panther  Mountain,  directly  over  Big  Indian  Sta- 
tion, with  Atlas-like  shoulders,  being  nearer,  seems  higher, 
and  is  often  mistaken  for  Slide  Mountain.  Table  Mountain,  to 
the  right  of  the  Slide,  is  the  divide  between  the  east  branch  of 
the  Neversink  and  the  Rondout. 

Continuing  our  journey  from  the  summit  we  pass  through 
Fleischmann's  to — 

Arkville,  railway  station  for  Margaretville,  one  and  a  half 
miles  distant,  and  Andes  twelve  miles — connected  by  stages. 
Furlough  Lake,  the  mountain  home  of  George  Gould,  is  seven 
miles  from  Arkville.  An  artificial  cave  near  Arkville,  with 
hieroglyphics  on  the  inner  walls,  attracts  many  visitors. 

Passing  through  Kelly's  Corners  and  Halcottville,  we 
come  to — 

Roxbury  (altitude  1497,  feet)  a  quaint  old  vUlag-e  at  the 
upper  end  of  which  is  the  Gould  Memorial  Church.  Miss 
Helen  Gould  spends  part  of  her  summer  here  and  has  done 
much  to  make  beautiful  the  village  of  her  father's  boyhood. 
Grand  Gorge  comes  next  1570  feet  above  the  tide,  where  stages 
are  taken  for  Gilboa  three  miles,  and  Prattsville  five  miles  dis- 
tant, on  the  Schoharie  Creek.  Pratt's  Rocks  are  visited  by 
hundreds  because  of  the  carving-  in  bass-relief  of  Col.  Pratt  and 
figures  emblematic  of  his  career. 

Stamford  is  now  at  hand,  seventy-six  miles  from  the  Hud- 
son, about  1,800   feet   above   the  sea,    named  by  settlers  from 


190  THE  HUDSON. 

Stamford,  Conn.  Here  was  fought,  more  than  a  century  ago, 
a  desperate  battle  between  the  Tories  and  the  Indians.  There 
are  many  large  hotels,  chief  among  them  The  Rexmere  and 
Churchill  Hall — fulfilling  the  dreams  of  Dr.  Churchill,  to  whose 
untiring  zeal  Stamford  owes  so  much.  Utsayantha  Mountain, 
3,365  feet  above  the  tide,  is  easily  reached  by  carriage-road, 
where  20,000  square  miles  can  be  seen  from  an  observatory. 
Thirteen  miles  from  Stamford  we  come  to  Hobart,  four  miles 
further  to  South  Kortright,  and  then  to — 

Bloomville,  the  terminus,  eighty-nine  miles  from  the  Hud- 
son, where  a  stage  line  of  eight  miles  takes  the  tourist  to  Delhi, 
a  beautiful  village,  the  shire  town  of  Delaware  County.  Re- 
turning to  Phoenicia  we  take  the  Stony  Clove  train  through 
the  famous  Stony  Clove  Notch,  pronounced  the  most  beautiful 
this  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  ;  we  pass  through  Chichester, 
Lanesviile,  Edgewood  and  Kaaterskill  Junction  to — 

Hunter,  the  northern  terminus  of  the  Stony  Clove  Road, 
with  general  elevation  of  about  1,600  feet.  Resuming  the 
eastward  journey  at  Kaaterskill  Junction  we  come  to — 

Tanner sville,  near  which  are  Elka  Park,  Onteora  Park 
and  Schoharie  Manor. 

Haines  Corners  is  another  busy  station,  2,000  feet  above 
the  sea,  at  the  head  of  Kaaterskill  Clove,  where  at  the  top  of 
the  great  Canyon  there  is  a  waterfall  of  160  feet  with  further 
descent  by  cascades  and  rapids  of  1,200  feet  to  Palensville.  On 
the  slope  of  Mt.  Lincoln  several  parks  have  been  established, 
Sunset,  Santa  Cruz  and  Twilight.  The  evening  view  from 
the  porch  of  one  of  the  cottages  of  Santa  Cruz  Park  will 
never     be     forgotten     by     the     writer     who    saw     a    storm 


THE  HUDSON.  191 

break  upon  the  mountains  and  pass  away  until  the 
valley  seemed  to  open  as  at  the  rolling  up  of  a  great 
curtain.  Here  at  the  Twilight  are  the  residences  of  Jas. 
Lyall,  'New  York;  S.  S.  Packard,  New  York;  Col.  Lath- 
ers, New  York :  Dr.  J.  H.  Suydam,  New  York  ;  Mrs.  Riley, 
New  York;  S.  T.  Dodd,  (Counsel  of  Standard  Oil  Co.),  New 
York:  I.  R.  Adriance,  Poughkeepsie ;  Prof.  Hutton,  Columbia 
College ;  and  at  Santa  Cruz  Park,  of  Hon.  E.  Elsworth, 
Poughkeepsie  ;  Otto  Crouse,  Jersey  City ;  Mrs.  Bruen,  Phila- 
delphia;  Mrs.  Ludwig,  Philadelphia:  Mrs.  Vrooman,  Brook- 
lyn. Several  of  these  cottages  have  beautiful  names.  Among 
others  are  recalled :  "Bonnie  Glint"  of  Twilight  Park 
owned  by  Dr.  Suydam,  and  "Tree  Tops''  of  Santa  Cruz  Park, 
owned  by  Mr.  Elsworth. 

Laurel  House  Station.  Here  the  voice  of  a  waterfall  as 
sweet  as  that  of  Minnehaha  invites  the  tourist  to  one  of  the 
most  famous  spots  in  the  Catskill  region,  and  a  mile  beyond  is 

Kaaterskill  Station,  2,145  feet  above  the  sea,  the  highest 
point  reached  by  any  railroad  in  the  State,  and  half  a  mile  or 
so  further  we  alight  on  a  rocky  balcony,  known  for  its  beautiful 
view  all  over   the    world,  crowned   by   the — 

Catskill  Mountain  House,  to  which  further  reference  is 
made  in  the  Northern  division.  No  other  city  in  the  world  is 
so  happily  situated  as  Greater  New  York,  for  the  Hudson  River 
is  at  her  very  doors,  and  those  grand  open  mountains  are  within 
a  few  hours  of  her  crowded  streets. 


-ly^  THE  HUDSON. 


KINGSTON  TO  CATSKILL. 

The  Beekman  stone  house,  almost  opposite  Kingston  Point 
was  built  before  1700  by  William  Beekman,  first  patroon  of  this 
section.  It  was  used  as  a  church  and  as  a  fort  durin^^  the  Indian 
strug-g-les,  and  still  preserves  the  honorable  scar  of  a  cannon  ball 
from  an  Eno'lish  ship.  Passing  Ferncliff,  on  the  east  bank,  form- 
erly the  residence  of  William  Astor,  now  the  home  of  John 
Jacob  Astor,  we  see  "  Clifton  Point,"  once  known  as  the  Garret- 
son  place,  the  noted  Methodist  preacher  whose  wife  was  sister  of 
Chancellor  Livingston,  and  above  this  Douglass  Merritt's  home 
known  as  "Leacote."  Flatbush  landing  lies  on  the  west  bank, 
below  which,  opposite  Ferncliff,  are  the  residences  of  Allen 
Terry,  D.  S.  Manchester,  N.  A.  Nickerson  and  P.  S.  Gurney. 
Above  Flatbush  Landing,  also  on  the  west  bank,  is  the  home  of 
Charles  A.  Shuitz.  the  Brigham  Cement  Works  and  the  resi- 
dences of  C.  O.  Livingston,  C.  Coddington,  and  Dr.  Shrady.  On 
the  east  bank  now  appears  F.  H.  Delano's,  at  Astor  Point,  Mrs. 
M.  L.  Marshall's  "Rokeby,"  and  "  Edge  water,"  formerly  the 
Donaldson  home,  now  owned  by  E.  C.  Goodwin.  Just  above 
Daisy  Island  is  the  village  of — - 

Barrytown,  on  the  east  bank,  90  miles  from  New  York.  It 
is  said  when  General  Jackson  was  President,  and  this  village 
wanted  a  post-office,  that  he  would  not  allow  it  under  the  name 
of  Barrytown,  from  personal  dislike  to  General  Barry,  and  sug- 
gested another  name ;  but  the  people  were  loyal  to  their  old 
friend,  and  vnit  idthout  a  post-office  until  a  new  administration. 
The  name  of  Barrytown,  therefore,  stands  as  a  monument  to 


THE  HUDSON.  193 

pluck.     The  place  was  once  known  as  Lower  Red  Hook  Landing". 
Passing  '^Massena,"  the  Aspinwall  property,  we  see — 

Montgomery  Place,  residence  of  Carleton  Hunt  and  sis- 
ters, about  one-half  mile  north  of  Barrytown,  formerly  occupied 
by  Mrs.  Montgomery,  wife  of  General  Montgomery  and  sister  of 
Chancellor  Livingston.  The  following  dramatic  incident  con- 
nected with  Montgomery  Place  is  recorded  in  Stone's  "  History 
of  New  York  City  "  :  "In  1818  the  Legislature  of  New  York — De- 
Witt  Clinton,  Governor — ordered  the  remains  of  General  Mont- 
gomery to  be  removed  from  Canada  to  New  York.  This  was  in 
accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  Continental  Congress,  which, 
in  1776,  had  voted  the  beautiful  cenotaph  to  his  memory  that 
now  stands  in  the  wall  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  fronting  Broadway. 
When  the  funeral  cortege  reached  Whitehall,  N.  Y.,  the  fleet 
stationed  there  received  them  with  appropriate  honors  ;  and  on 
the  4th  of  July  they  arrived  in  Albany.  After  lying  in  state  in 
that  city  over  Sunday,  the  remains  were  taken  to  New  York, 
and  on  Wednesday  deposited,  with  military  honors,  in  their  final 
resting  place,  at  St.  Paul's.  Governor  Clinton  had  informed 
Mrs.  Montgomery  of  the  hour  when  the  steamer  'Richmond,' 
conveying  the  body,  would  pass  her  home.  At  her  own  request, 
she  stood  alone  on  the  portico.  It  was  forty  years  since  she  had 
parted  from  her  husband,  to  whom  she  had  been  wedded  but  two 
years  when  he  fell  on  the  heights  of  Quebec ;  yet  she  had  re- 
mained faithful  to  the  memory  of  her  '  soldier,'  as  she  always 
called  him.  The  steamboat  halted  before  the  mansion;  the 
band  played  the  '  Dead  March,'  and  a  salute  was  fired  ;  and  the 
ashes  of  the  venerated  hero,  and  the  departed  husband,  passed  on. 
The  attendants  of  the  Spartan  widow  now  appeared,  but,  over- 


194  THE  HUDSON. 

come  by  the  tender  emotions  of  the  moment,  she  had  swooned 
and  fallen  to  the  floor.*' 

The  Sawkill  Creek  flows  through  a  beautiful  ravine  in 
Montgomery  grounds  and  above  this  is  the  St.  Stephen's 
College  and  Preparatory  School  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
Diocese  of  New  York.  Beyond  and  above  this  are  Mrs.  E. 
Bartlett's  home  and  Deveaux  Park,  afterwards  Almonte,  the 
property  of  Col  Charles  Livingston.  We  are  now  approaching — 
Cru^er's  Island,  with  its  indented  South  Bay  reaching  up 
toward  the  bluff  crowned  by  Montgomery  Place.  There  is  an 
old  Indian  tradition  that  no  person  ever  died  on  this  island, 
which  a  resident  recently  said  still  held  true.  It  is  remarkable, 
moreover,  in  possessing  many  antique  carved  stones  from  a 
city  of  Central  America  built  into  the  walls  of  a  temple 
modeled  after  the  building  from  which  the  graven  stones  were 
brought.  The  "ruin"  at  the  south  end  of  the  island  is  barely 
seen  from  the  steamer,  hidden  as  it  is  by  foliage,  but  it  is  dis- 
tinctly noted  from  the  windows  of  the  New  York  Centnd  in  the 
winter  season.  Col.  Cruger  has  spared  no  expense  in  the  adorn- 
ment of  his  grounds,  and  a  beautiful  drive  is  afforded  the  visitor. 
The  island  is  connected  by  a  roadway  across  a  tongue  of  land 
which  separates  the  North  from  the  South  Bay.  Above  the 
Island  east  of  the  steamer's  channel  across  the  track  of  the  New 
York  Central,  we  see  a  historic  bit  of  water  known  as — 

Tlie  Nortli  Bay.  It  was  here  that  Robert  Fulton  built  the 
*' Clermont,''  receiving  pecuniary  aid  from  Chancellor  Living- 
ston. It  was  through  his  influence  that  Fulton  secured  from  the 
State  Legislature  of  New  York  the  passage  of  an  Act  granting 
to  himself  the  exclusive  privilege  of  navigating  the  waters  of 


THE  HUDSON  .195 

the  State  by  means  of  steam  power.  The  only  conditions  im- 
posed were  that  he  should,  within  a  year,  construct  a  boat  of 
not  less  than  twenty  tons  burthen,  which  should  navigate  the 
Hudson  at  a  speed  not  less  than  four  miles  an  hour,  and  that  one 
such  boat  should  not  fail  of  running  regularly  between  New 
York  and  Albany  for  the  space  of  one  year.  The  Legislature 
probably  intended  that  Fulton  should  run  an  ice-boat  when  the 
Hudson  was  frozen  over,  or  else  were  sleepy  when  they  passed 
the  bill.  It  has  been  a  mooted  question  for  almost  a  hundred 
years  as  to  whom  should  be  accredited  the  invention  of  the  steam- 
boat.    An  old  newspa})er  dipping  says  : 

"The  theory  of  steam  navigation  on  the  water  had  been 
evolved  and  considered  for  more  than  200  years  before  it  actually 
took  shape.  .Tames  Rumsey  was  engaged  in  experiments  from 
1784  to  1786,  when  he  tried  a  boat  on  the  Potomac,  which  made 
four  miles  an  hour,  propelled  by  a  jet  of  water  forced  from  the 
stern.  In  the  same  year  a  paddle  steamer  was  invented  and 
built  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  by  John  Fitch,  of  Windsor,  Conn. 
After  many  disappointments  and  misfortunes  in  applying  steam 
to  the  propulsion  of  vessels,  Mr.  Fitch  finally  triumphed  over 
repeated  failures.  An  engraving  and  description  of  the  boat  was 
prepared  and  published  in  the  Cohimhian  Magazine  for  Decem- 
ber, 178(i.  The  propelling  instruments  used  in  Fitch's  boat  were 
paddles  suspended  by  the  upper  ends  of  their  shafts,  and  moved 
by  cranks.  His  boat  was  sixty  feet  long  and  very  lightly  built. 
The  second  steamboat  in  the  world  was  invented  by  Mr.  Sym- 
ington, in  Scotland.  It  was  tried  in  1788,  but  only  partially 
succeeded." 

The  third  steamboat,  and  the  only  one  up  to  that  time  that 


196  THE  HUDSON. 

had  attained  practical  success,  was  the  ''Clermont"  of  Robert 
Fulton.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  two  most  practical 
achievements  of  our  century  have  been  consummated  by  artists, 
a  practical  telegraph  by  Morse  after  a  score  of  "invented"  fail- 
ares,  and  the  successful  application  of  steam  to  navig-ation  by 
Fulton.  Fulton  was  born  in  1765  and,  at  the  time  of  Symington's 
experiment  on  Dalswinton  Lock,  Scotland,  was  twenty-three 
years  of  age.  He  was  then  an  artist  student  of  Benjamin  West, 
in  London,  but  after  several  years  of  study  he  felt  that  he  was 
better  adapted  for  engineering,  and  soon  thereafter  wrote  a 
work  on  Canal  Navigation.  In  1797  he  went  to  Paris.  He  re- 
sided there  seven  years  and  built  a  small  steamboat  on  the 
Seine,  which  worked  well,  but  made  very  slow  progress. 

Soon  after  this  he  returned  to  New  York  and  brought  the 
"  Clermont "  to  successful  completion.  His  reputation  was  now 
assured,  and  his  invention  of  "torpedoes"  gave  him  additional 
fame  Congress  not  only  purchased  these  instruments  of  war- 
fare, but  also  set  apart  $320,000  for  a  steam  frigate  to  be  con- 
structed under  his  supervision.  How  necessary  it  is  to  succeed 
said  Kossuth  at  Mount  Vernon  I  Perhaps  it  may  never  be  known 
who  first  "  thought  out  "  the  steamboat.  It  is,  however,  certain 
that  Fulton  succeeded  in  making  the  steamboat  an  accomplished 
fact.  He  would,  however,  wonder  to-day  if  he  could  stand  at  the 
prow  of  one  of  these  steamers  when  the  water  falls  away,  cut  by 
a  rainbow  cimeter  of  spray.  He  would  admire  the  dining-room 
on  the  main  deck,  as  he  took  in  the  Palisades-and-Highlands-on- 
toast.  He  would  marvel  at  the  great  engine  of  polished  steel, 
working  almost  noiselessly,  and  wonder  at  the  way  the  pilot 
lands  at  the  docks,  even  as  a  driver  brings  his  buggy  to  a  horse- 


THE  HUDSON.  197 

block;  for  in  his  day,  and  long  afterwards,  passengers  were 
''  slued  "  ashore  in  little  boats,  as  it  was  not  thought  safe  to  land 
a,  steamboat  against  a  wharf. 

An  original  letter  from  Robert  Fulton  to  the  Minister  of  Bava- 
ria at  the  Court  of  France,  written  in  1809,  is  of  much  interest 
at  the  present  day.  It  was  upon  the  question  of  putting  steam- 
boats on  the  Danube.  Its  commencement  pertains  to  the 
success  of  Fulton's  boat  on  the  Hudson.  In  the  letter 
Fulton  says:  ''The  distance  from  New  York  to  Albany  is  160 
miles :  the  tide  rises  as  far  as  Albany ;  its  velocity  is  on  an 
average  li  miles  an  hour.  We  thus  have  the  tide  half  the  time 
in  favor  of  the  boat  and  half  the  time  against  her.  The  boat  is 
100  feet  long,  10  feet  wide  and  7  feet  deep  ;  the  steam  engine  is 
of  the  power  of  20  horses  :  she  runs  4i  miles  an  hour  in  still 
water.  Consequently  when  the  tide  is  H  miles  an  ,^our  in  her 
favor  she  runs  51  miles  an  hour.  When  the  tide  is  against 
her  she  runs  2f  miles  an  hour.  Thus  in  theory  her  average 
velocity  is  4i  miles  an  hour,  but  in  practice  we  take  advantage 
of  the  currents.  When  they  are  against  us  we  keep  near  shore 
in  the  eddies,  where  the  current  is  weak  or  the  eddy  in  our 
favor ;  when  the  tide  is  in  our  favor  we  take  the  centre  of  the 
stream  and  draw  every  advantage  from  it.  In  this  way  our 
average  speed  is  5  miles  an  hour,  and  we  run  to  Albany,  160 
miles,  in  about  32  hours. 

The  l)oat  has  three  elegant  cabins,  one  for  the  ladies  and  two 
for  the  gentlemen,  with  kitchen,  library,  and  every  convenience, 
and  averages  100  passengers  up  or  down  the  river.  Every 
passenger  pays  $7,  or  42  francs,  for  which  he  has  dinner,  tea 
and  bed,  breakfast  and  dinner,  with  the   liberty  to  carry  200 


198  THE  HUDSON. 

pounds  of  bag-^ag-e.  Previous  to  the  invention  of  the  steamboat 
there  were  two  modes  of  conveyance.  One  was  by  the  common 
sloops;  they  charged  42  francs^  and  were  on  the  average  four 
days  in  making  the  passage — they  have  sometimes  been  as  long 
as  eight  days.  The  dread  of  such  tedious  voyages  prevented 
great  numbers  of  persons  from  going  in  sloops.  The  second 
mode  of  conveyance  was  the  mail,  or  stage.  They  charged  $8, 
or  44  francs,  and  the  expenses  on  the  road  were  about  $5,  or  30 
francs,  so  that  expenses  amounted  to  $13.  The  time  required 
was  48  hours.  The  steamboat  has  rendered  the  communication 
between  New  York  and  Albany  so  cheap  and  certain  that  the 
number  of  passengers  are  rapidly  increasing.  Persons  who  live 
150  miles  beyond  Albany  know  the  hour  she  will  leave  that  city, 
and  making  their  calculations  to  arrive  at  York,  stay  two  days 
to  transact  business,  return  with  the  boat,  and  are  with  their 
families  in  one  week.  The  facility  has  rendered  the  boat  a 
great  favorite  with  the  public. 

A  telegram  from  Exeter,  N.  H.,  January  11th,  1886,  said  :  Dr. 
William  Perry,  the  oldest  person  in  Exeter  and  the  oldest  grad- 
uate of  Harvard  College,  died  this  morning  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
eight  years.  He  was  the  sole  survivor  of  the  passengers  on 
Fulton's  first  steamboat  on  its  first  trip  down  the  Hudson,  seven- 
ty-nine years  ago.  He  was  born  in  Norton,  Mass.,  in  1788,  and 
was  a^  member  of  1811  in  Harvard.  Dr.  Perry  was  one  of  the 
most  successful  and  skillful  physicians  of  his  day  in  New  Hamp- 
shire.    He  was  grandfather  of  Sarah  Orne  Jewett,  the  authoress^ 

Tivoli,  (population  1,350),  above  North  Bay  took  its  name 
from  a  pre-revolutionary  "Chateau,"  now  owned  by  Col.  J.  L. 
DePeyster.     The  "Callender  Place"  to  the  south-east,  now  oc- 


THE  HUDSON.  199 

cupied  by  Mrs.  Kidd,  was  formerly  the  property  of  Johnston 
Livingston.  Two  miles  from  the  river  is  the  hospitable  home 
of  Mr.  J.  N.  Lewis,  a  morning  view  from  whose  veranda  is  still 
remembered,  also  the  breakfast  which  preceded  it,  and  it  is  to 
Mr.  Lewis  that  the  writer  is  indebted  for  a  drive  ten  years  ago 
to  the  ruins  on  Cruger's  Island.  The  residence  of  J.  Watts  De- 
Peyster  stands  on  a  commanding  bluff  north  of  the  railway 
station  and  it  was  beside  his  open  fireside  many  years  ago  that 
he  told  the  writer  how  his  house  was  saved  from  Vaughan's  trip 
up  the  river  to  burn  the  Livingston  Manor  House.  Rose  Hill, 
the  home  of  his  ancestors,  was  mistaken  for  "Clermont,"  but  a 
well-stocked  cellar  mollified  the  British  Captain.  "Rose  Hill', 
was  named  after  the  old  Watts  Mansion  in  Edinburgh,  which 
has  recently  been  removed  to  make  room  for  a  railway. 

Rose  Hill  projects  so  far  out  into  the  river  that  it  is  beyond 
the  islands  two  miles  below,  which,  at  one  time,  were  about  in 
the  centre  of  the  wide  expanse  of  water  between  the  main 
shores.  To  give  a  better  idea,  however,  of  the  projection, 
steamboats  which  pass  down  to  the  front  have  to  sheer  in  so 
far  in  making  their  landing  at  Tivoli,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below, 
that  they  disappear  from  the  sight  of  those  looking  southward 
and  watching  them  from  the  piazza  of  the  mansion.  Rose  Hill 
itself  has  grown  like  one  of  the  old  English  family  houses,  with 
the  increase  of  the  family,  until,  in  strange  but  picturesque  out- 
line— the  prevailing  style  being  Italian,  somewhat  in  the  shape 
of  a  cross — it  is  now  114  feet  long  by  87  feet  deep.  The  tower  in 
the  rear,  devoted  to  library  purposes,  rises  to  the  height  of 
about  sixty  feet.  This  library,  first  and  last,  has  contained  be- 
tween twenty  and   thirty   thousand   volumes.     Such    indefinite 


200  THE  HUDSON. 

languaj^e  is  used,  because  the  owner  has  donated  over  half  this 
number  to  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  the  New  York  So- 
ciety Library,  and  a  number  of  other  similar  organizations  in 
different  parts  of  the  United  States.  As  a  working  Library,  re- 
plete with  dictionaries  and  cyclopaedias,  in  many  tongues  and  on 
almost  every  subject,  it  is  a  marvel.  It  is  likewise  very  valuable 
for  its  collections  on  military  and  several  other  special  topics. 
From  it  was  selected  and  given  to  the  New  York  Historical  So- 
ciety, one  of  the  finest  possible  collections  on  the  History  of 
Holland,  from  the  earliest  period  down  to  the  present  time.  In 
spite  of  all  these  donations  it  is  still  a  curiosity  shop ;  not  only 
for  a  bibliopole,  but  for  a  curio-seeker. 

A  ferry  from  Tivoli  to  Saugerties  affords  communication  be- 
tween the  two  villages.  Glasco  Landing,  on  the  west  bank,  lies 
between  the  residences  of  Henry  Corse,  on  the  south,  and  the 
homes  of  Messrs.  Polhemus,  O.  R.  Spaulding  and  Mrs.  Vander- 
pool  (sister  of  the  late  President  Martin  Van  Buren),  on  the 
north  „ 

In  locating  the  residences  at  this  part  of  our  river  and  dealing 
so  often  in  the  words  "  north  "  and  "  south,"  we  are  reminded  of 
a  good  story  of  Martin  Van  Buren.  It  is  said  that  it  was  as  dif- 
ficult to  get  a  direct  answer  from  him  as  from  Bismarck  or  Glad- 
stone. Two  friends  were  going  up  with  him  one  day  on  a  river 
boat  and  one  made  a  wager  with  the  other  that  a  direct  answer 
could  not  be  secured  on  any  question  from  the  astute  statesman. 
They  approached  the  Ex-President  and  one  of  them  said,  "  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  my  friend  and  I  have  had  a  little  discussion :  will 
you  tell  us,  does  or  does  not  the  sun  rise  in  the  east  ?  "  The  Ex- 
President  calmly  drew  up  a  chair  and  said,  "  You  must  remem- 


THE  HUDSON.  201 

ber  that  the  east  and  west  are  merely  relative  terms.-'     "  That 
settles  it,"  said  the  qustioner,  ''  I'll  pay  the  bet.'' 

Sau^erties  (101  miles  from  New  York,  population  4,237). 
The  long  dock  on  the  west  bank  shows  the  enterprise  of  this 
prosperous  villag-e.  From  its  location  (being-  the  nearest  of  the 
river  towns  to  the  Catskills)  it  naturally  hoped  to  secure  a  large 
share  of  tourist  travel,  but  Rondout  and  Catskill  presented 
easier  and  better  facilities  of  access  and  materially  shortened 
the  hours  of  arrival  at  the  summit.  Platterkill  Clove,  wilder 
and  grander  than  Kaaterskill  Clove.  aV)out  nine  miles  west  of 
the  village,  has  Platterkill  Mountain.  Indian  Head,  Twin 
Mountains  and  Sugar  Loaf  on  the  south,  and  High  Peak  and 
Round  Top  on  the  north.  Its  eighteen  waterfalls  not  only  give 
great  variety  to  a  pedestrian  trip,  but  also  ample  field  for  the 
artist's  brush.  The  Esopus,  meeting  the  Hudson  at  Saugerties, 
supplies  unfailing  waterjwwer  for  its  manufacturing  industries, 
prominent  among  which  are  the  Sheffield  Paper  Company,  the 
Barkley  Fibre  Company  (wood  pulp),  the  Martin  Company  (card 
board)  and  a  white  lead  factory.  There  are  also  large  ship- 
ments of  blue  stone,  evidences  of  which  are  seen  in  many  places 
near  at  hand  along  the  western  bank.  Many  attractive  strolls 
near  Saugerties  invite  the  visitor,  notably  the  walk  to  Barkley 
Heights  south  of  the  Esopus.  An  extensive  view  is  obtained 
from  the  West  Shore  Railroad  Station  west  of  the  village 
and  the  drive  thereto.  North  of  Saugerties  will  be  seen  the 
docks  and  hamlets  of  Maiden,  Evesport  and  West  Camp,  also 
the  residences  of  J.  G.  Myers  to  the  northwest  of  the  Rock  islet, 
and  of  H.  T.  Coswell,  near  which  the  steamer  passes  to  the 
west  of  Livingston  Flats.     The  west  shore  at  West  Camp  was 


202  THE  HUDSON„ 

settled  by  exiles  from  the  Palatinate,  about  1710,  and  one  of  the 
old  churches  still  stands  a  short  distance  inland.  We  are  now 
in  the  midst  of^ 

Tlie  Livingston  Country,  whose  names  and  memories  dot 
the  landscape  and  adorn  the  history  of  the  Hudson  Valley. 
Dutchess  and  Columbia  Counties  meet  on  the  east  bank  opposite 
that  part  of  Saugerties  where  Sawyer's  Creek  flows  into  the 
Hudson.  "  Idele,"  occupied  by  Miss  Clarkson,  was  orig-inally 
called  the  Chancellor  Place.  "  Clermont"  is  about  half  a  miie 
to  the  north,  the  home  of  Clermont  Living"ston,  an  early  manor 
house  built  by  Robert  R.  Livingston,  who,  next  to  Hamilton,  was 
the  greatest  New  York  statesman  during  our  Revolutionary 
period.  The  manor  church,  not  seen  from  the  river,  is  at  the 
old  village  of  Clermont,  about  five  miles  due  west  from  the  man- 
sion. The  Livingstons  are  of  Scotch  ancestry  and  have  an  illus- 
trious lineage.  Robert  Livingston,  born  in  1654,  was  descended 
from  Mary  Livingston,  one  of  the  "four  Marys"  who  attended 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots  during  hel*  childhood  and  education  in 
France.  He  came  to  the  Hudson  Valley  with  his  father,  and  in 
1686  purchased  from  the  Indians  a  tract  of  country  reaching  east 
twenty-two  miles  to  the  boundary  of  Massachusetts  with  a  river 
frontage  of  twelve  miles.  This  purchase  was  created,"  the  Lord- 
ship and  Manor  of  Livingston,"  by  Governor  Thomas  Dongan. 
In  1692  Robert  built  the  manor  house,  but  did  not  reside  in  it  for 
twenty  years.  He  was  a  friend  of  Captain  Kidd  and  a  powerful 
promoter  of  his  enterprises.  The  manor  consisted  of  260,000 
acres.  The  estate  of  13,000  acres,  given  to  his  second  son  Robert 
was  called  Clermont.  Philip,  his  first  son,  inherited  247,000  acres, 
y)y  old-time  primogeniture  succession.     From  each  of  these  two 


THE  HUDSON.  203 

families  sprano-  a  line  of  vioforous  and  resolute  men.  "Robert  R. 
Livingston,  our  Revolutionary  hero,  descended  from  the  smaller 
estate,  owned  "Clermont"'  at  the  time  it  was  burned  by  the 
British.  It  was  soon  re-built  and  Lafayette  was  a  guest  at  the 
mansion  during-  his  visit  to  the  United  States  in  1824. 

Above  Clermont  are  the  homes  of  J.  T.  Hill,  T.  S.  Clarkson, 
E.  H.  Ludlow  and  the  R.  E.  Livingston  estate,  opposite  West 
Camp.  Above  West  Camp  landing  on  the  west  side,  is  the 
boundary  line  between  Ulster  and  Greene  Counties  ;  Ulster  hav- 
ing kept  us  company  all  the  way  from  Hampton  Point  opposite 
New  Hamburgh.  Throughout  this  long  stretch  of  the  river  one 
industry  must  not  be  overlooked,  well  described  by  John  Bur- 
roughs : 

"When  the  chill  of  the  ice  is  out  of  the  river  and  the  snow 
and  frost  out  of  the  air,  the  fishermen  along  the  shore  are  on  the 
lookout  for  the  first  arrival  of  shad.  A  few  days  of  warm  south 
wind  the  latter  part  of  April  will  soon  blow  them  up ;  it  is  true 
also,  that  a  cold  north  wind  will  as  quickly  blow  them  back. 
Preparations  have  been  making  for  them  all  winter.  In  many 
a  farm-house  or  other  humble  dwelling  along  the  river,  the  an- 
cient occupation  of  knitting  of  fish-nets  has  been  plied  through 
the  long  winter  evenings,  perhaps  every  grown  member  of  the 
household,  the  mother  and  her  daughters  as  well  as  the  father 
and  his  sons,  lending  a  hand.  The  ordinary  gill  or  drift-net 
used  for  shad  fishing  in  the  Hudson  is  from  a  half  to  three-quar- 
ters of  a  mile  long,  and  thirty  feet  wide,  containing  about  fifty 
or  sixty  pounds  of  fine  linen  twine,  and  it  is  a  labor  of  many 
months  to  knit  one.  Formerly  the  fish  were  taken  mainly  by 
immense  seines,  hauled  by  a  large  number  of  men ;  but  now  all 


204  THE  HUDSON. 

the  deeper  part  of  the  river  is  fished  with  the  long,  delicate  gill- 
nets  that  drift  to  and  fro  with  the  tide,  and  are  managed  by  two 
men  in  a  boat.  The  net  is  of  fine  linen  thread,  and  is  practically 
invisible  to  the  shad  in  the  obscure  river  current :  it  hangs  sus- 
pended perpendicularly  in  the  water,  kept  in  position  by  buoys 
at  the  top  and  by  weights  at  the  bottom  :  the  buoys  are  attached 
by  cords  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  long,  which  allow  the  net  to  sink 
out  of  the  reach  of  the  keels  of  passing  vessels.  The  net  is 
thrown  out  on  the  ebb  tide,  stretching  nearly  across  the  river, 
and  drifts  down  and  then  back  on  the  flood,  the  fish  being  snared 
behind  the  gills  in  their  efforts  to  pass  through  the  meshes.  I 
envy  fishermen  their  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  river. 
They  know  it  by  night  as  well  as  by  day,  and  learn  all  its  moods 
and  phases.  The  net  is  a  delicate  instrument  that  reveals  all 
the  hidden  currents  and  by-ways,  as  well  as  all  the  sunken 
snags  and  wrecks  at  the  bottom.  By  day  the  fishermen  notes 
the  shape  and  position  of  his  net  by  means  of  the  line  or  buoys ; 
by  night  he  marks  the  far  end  of  it  with  a  lantern  fastened  upon 
a  board  or  block.  The  night  tides  he  finds  differ  from  the  day 
— the  flood  at  night  being  much  stronger  than  at  other  times,  as 
if  some  pressure  had  been  removed  with  the  sun,  and  the  freed 
currents  found  less  hindrance.  The  fishermen  have  terms  and 
phrases  of  their  own.  The  wooden  tray  upon  which  the  net  is 
coiled,  and  which  sits  in  the  the  stern  of  the  boat,  is  called  a 
'cuddy.'  The  net  is  divided  into  'shots.'  If  a  passing  sloop 
or  schooner  catches  it  with  her  center-board  or  her  anchor,  it 
gives  way  where  two  of  these  shoots  meet,  and  thus  the  whole 
net  is  not  torn.  The  top  cord  or  line  of  the  net  is  called  a  '  cim- 
line.'      One    fisherman    'plugs'    another    when    he    puts    out 


THE  HUDSON.  205 

from  the  shore  and  casts  in  ahead  of  him,  instead  of  g"oin^  to  the^ 
g-eneral  starting-  place,  and  taking-  his  turn.  This  always  makes 
bad  blood.  The  luck  of  the  born  fisherman  is  about  as  conspic- 
uous with  the  gill-net  as  with  the  rod  and  line,  some  boats  bein^ 
noted  for  their  great  catches  the  season  through.  No  doubt  the 
secret  is  mainly  through  application  to  the  business  in  hand^ 
but  that  is  about  all  that  distinguishes  the  successful  ang-ler. 
The  shad  campaign  is  one  that  requires  pluck  and  endurance ;. 
no  regular  sleep,  no  regular  meals  ;  wet  and  cold,  heat  and  wind 
and  tempest,  and  no  great  gains  at  last.  But  the  sturgeon 
fishers,  who  come  later  and  are  seen  the  whole  summer  through, 
have  an  indolent,  lazy  time  of  it.  They  fish  around  the  '  slack- 
water,'  catching  the  last  of  the  ebb  and  the  first  of  the  flow,  and 
hence  drift  but  little  either  way.  To  a  casual  observer  they  ap- 
pear as  if  anchored  and  asleep.  But  they  wake  up  when  they 
have  a  'strike,'  which  may  be  everyday,  or  not  once  a  week. 
The  fishermen  keep  their  eye  on  the  line  of  buoys,  and  when  two 
or  more  of  them  are  hauled  under,  he  knows  his  game  has  run 
foul  of  the  net.  and  he  hastens  to  the  point.  The  sturgeon  is  a 
pig,  without  the  pig's  obstinacy.  He  spends  much  of  the  time 
rooting  and  feeding  in  the  mud  at  the  bottom,  and  encounters 
the  net,  coarse  and  strong,  when  he  goes  abroad.  He  strikes, 
and  is  presently  hopelessly  entangled,  when  he  comes  to  the  top 
and  is  pulled  into  the  boat,  like  a  great  sleepy  sucker.  For  so 
dull  and  lubberly  a  fish,  the  sturgeon  is  capable  of  some  very 
lively  antics ;  as,  for  instance,  his  habit  of  leaping  full  length 
into  the  air  and  coming  down  with  a  great  splash.  He  has  thus 
been  known  to  leap  unwittingly  into  a  passing  boat,  to  his  own 
great  surprise^  and  to  the  alarm  and  consternation  of  the  in- 
mates." 


206  THE  HUDSON. 

Germantown.  Germantown  Station  is  now  seen  on  tne  east 
bank,  and  between  this  and  Gsrmantown  Dock,  three  miles  to 
the  north,  is  obtained  the  best  view  of  the  "  Man  in  the  Mount- 
ain,'' readily  traced  by  the  following  outline  :  The  peak  to  the 
south  is  the  knee,  the  next  to  the  north  is  the  breast,  and  two  or 
three  above  this  the  chin,  the  nose  and  the  forehead.  How 
often  from  the  slope  of  Hillsdale,  forty  miles  away  on  the  western 
trend  of  tne  Berkshires,  when  a  boy,  playing  by  the  fountain- 
heads  of  the  Kinderhook  and  the  Roeliffe  Jansen's  Creek,  have  I 
looked  out  upon  this  mountain  range  aglow  in  the  sunset,  and  at 
even-tide  heard  my  grandfather  tell  of  his  far-off  journeys  to 
Towanda,  Pennsylvania,  when  he  drove  through  the  great 
Cloves  of  the  Catskills,  where  twice  he  met  *'  a  bear  ''  which  re- 
treated at  the  sound  of  his  old  flint-lock,  and  then  when  I  went 
to  sleep  at  night  how  I  pulled  the  coverlet  closer  about  my  head, 
all  on  account  of  those  two  bears  that  had  been  dead  for  more 
than  forty  years. 

The  Catskills  were  called  by  the  Indians  On-ti-o-ras,  or  Mount- 
ains of  the  sky,  as  they  sometimes  seem  like  clouds  along  the 
horizon.  This  range  of  mountains  was  supposed  by  the  Indians 
to  have  been  originally  a  monster  who  devoured  all  the  children 
of  the  Red  Men,  until  the  Great  Spirit  touched  him  when  he 
was  going  down  to  the  salt  lake  to  bathe,  and  here  he  remains. 
"  Two  little  lakes  upon  the  summit  were  regarded  the  eyes  of 
the  monster,  and  these  are  open  all  the  summer;  but  in  the 
winter  they  are  covered  with  a  thick  crust  or  heavy  film :  but 
whether  sleeping  or  waking  tears  always  trickle  down  his 
cheeks.  In  these  mountains,  according  to  Indian  belief,  was 
kept  the  great  treasury  of  storm  and  sunshine,  presided  over  by 


THE  HrDSON. 


207 


an  old  squaw  spirit  who  dwelt  on  the  highest  peak  of  the  mount- 
ains. She  kept  day  and  night  shut  up  in  her  wigwam,  letting- 
out  only  one  at  a  time.     She  manufactured  new  moons  every 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

month,  cutting  up  the  old  ones  into  stars,"  and,  like  the  old 

^Eolus  of  mythology,  shut  the  winds  up  in  the  caverns  of  the 

hills:— 

Where  Manitou  once  lived  and  reigned, 

Great  Spirit  of  a  race  gone  by, 
And  Ontiora  lies  enchained 
With  face  uplifted  to  the  sky. 


208  THE  HUDSON 

The  similarity  of  the  words  Ontario  and  Ontiora  is  suggestive 
as  connected  with  this  legend,  and  Henry  Abbey  has  put  the 
story  in  graphic  verse  : 

"  In  the  sleep,  or  night,  of  the  moon 
The  monster  was  stalking  abroad, 
On  his  way  to  the  sea  for  a  bath, 
For  a  bath  in  the  salt,  gray  sea: 
And  he  trod  the  Red-men  down, 
Slaying  them  as  he  went, 
Or  drove  them  out  of  the  land 
As  the  winter  drives  the  birds. 
******* 
"  Midway  between  the  lakes 

And  the  waters  that  reach  to  the  sky- 
Between  the  crystal  fountains 
And  the  headstrong,  white-plumed  seft-. 
And  near  the  King  of  Rivers, 
Which  widens  and  deepens  like  life, 
To  Ontiora  spoke 
Manitou,  out  of  the  sky, 
Manitou,  father  of  all, 
The  one  Great  Spirit  of  Good, 
To  the  man-shaped  monster  spoke: 
'  You  shall  not  go  to  the  sea, 
But  forever  here  on  the  land. 
Shall  lie  on  your  giant  back. 

And  wail  in  the  blast,  and  weep  f 

For  the  Red-men  you  have  slain.' 
******* 
"So  Ontiora  wild, 

By  eternal  quiet  touched, 

Fell  backward  in  a  swoon, 

And  was  changed  into  peaceful  hilla, 

The  Mountains  of  the  Sky. 


THE  HUDSON.  209 

•'  And  -whenever  you  sail  along 
By  the  Kaatskllls  high  and  grand 
You  may  see  the  form  of  him, 
The  monster  that,  moons  ago, 
The  Manitou  changed  into  this; 
He  lies  with  his  face  to  the  feky, 
You  can  mark  his  knees  and  breast, 
And  forehead  lofty  and  large; 
But  his  eyes,  they  say,  are  lakes 
Whose  tears  flow  down  in  streams 
That  seam  and  wrinkle  his  cheeks. 
For  the  fate  that  he  bears,  and  regret 
For  the  evil  he  did  as  he  stalked 
In  the  sleep,  or  night  of  the  moon, 
Moons  on  moons  ago." 

We  are  now  in  what  is  known  as  The  Clover  Reach  of  the 
Hudson  which  extends  to  the  Backerack  Reach  near  Athens. 
One  mile  above  Germantown  Dock  stood  Nine  Mile  Tree,  a  land- 
mark among  old  river  pilots,  probably  so  named  on  account  of 
its  marking  a  point  nine  miles  from  Hudson.  Above  this  the 
Roeliffe  Jansen's  Kill  flows  into  the  river,  known  by  the  Indians 
as  Saupenak,  rising  in  Hillsdale  within  a  few  feet  of  Greenriver 
Creek,  embalmed  by  Bryant  in  verse.  The  Greenriver  flows  east 
into  the  Housatonic,  the  Jansen  south  into  Dutchess  County, 
whence  it  takes  a  northerly  course  until  it  joins  the  Hudson. 
The  Burden  iron  furnaces  above  the  mouth  of  the  stream  form 
an  ugly  feature  in  the  landscape.  This  is  the  southern  boundary 
of  the  Herman  Livingston  estate,  whose  house  is  one  mile  and  a 
half  further  up  the  river,  near  Livingston  Dock,  beneath  Oak 
Hill.  Catskill  station  is  now  seen  on  the  east  bank,  and  di- 
rectly opposite  Catskill  Landing  on  the  west  bank,  which  the 
steamer  is  now  approaching  is  the  village  of — 


210  THE  HUDSON. 

Catskill,  (111  miles  from  New  York,  population  4,922), 
founded  in  1678  by  the  purchase  of  several  square  miles  from  the 
Indians.  The  landing"  is  immediately  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Catskill  or  Kaaterskill  Creek.  It  is  said  that  the  creek  and 
mountains  derive  their  name  as  follows  :  It  is  known  that  each 
tribe  had  a  totemic  emblem,  or  rude  banner ;  the  Mahicans  had 
the  wolf  as  their  emblem,  and  some  say  that  the  word  Mahican 
means  an  enchanted  wolf.  (The  Lenni  Lenapes,  or  Delawares, 
at  the  Highlands,  had  the  turkey  as  their  totem.)  Catskill  was 
the  southern  boundary  of  the  Mahicans  on  the  west  bank,  and 
here  they  set  up  their  emblem.  It  is  said  from  this  fact  the 
stream  took  the  name  of  Kaaters-kill.  The  large  cat  and  wolf 
were  at  least  similar  in  appearance,  from  the  mark  of  King- 
Aepgin  on  his  deed  to  Van  Rensselaer.  Perhaps,  however,  the 
mountains  at  one  time  abounded  in  these  animals,  and  the 
emblem  may  be  only  a  coincidence.  The  old  village,  with  its 
Main  street,  lies  along  the  valley  of  the  Catskill  Creek,  not 
quite  a  mile  from  the  Causeway  Landing-,  and  preserves  some  of 
the  features  of  the  days  when  Knickerbocker  was  accustomed  to 
pay  it  an  annual  visit.  The  location  seems  to  have  been  chosen 
as  a  place  of  security — out  of  sight  to  one  voyaging-  up  the  river. 
The  village  has,  however,  grown  of  late,  and  the  northern  slope 
reveals  fine  residences,  all  of  which  command  extensive  views 
of  the  Hudson.  Just  out  of  the  village  proper,  on  a  beautiful 
outlook,  stands  the  charming  Prospect  Park  Hotel,  unrivaled  in 
its  beauty  of  location.  It  has  a  most  delightful  piazza,  four 
hundred  feet  long,  sixteen  feet  wide,  supported  by  Corinthian 
pillars  twenty-five  feet  high,  with  many  private  balconies,  and 
charming  views  from  every  room.     The  main  building  is  two 


THE  HUDSON.  211 

hundred  and  fifty  feet  front,  with  wing  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
by  forty,  situated  in  a  large  and  beautiful  park.  This  handsome 
park  adjoins  the  best  residence  portion  -of  the  village,  thus 
affording  miles  of  elegant  shady  walks  and  drives  near  at  hand. 
The  views  and  scenery  from  the  "Prospect"  are  unsurpassed. 
The  Hudson,  with  its  ever-changing  scenes  of  busy  life  in  view 
for  forty  miles  ;  the  majestic  mountains  in  their  quiet  grandeur  * 
the  Berkshire  Hills  in  the  distance  ;  the  many  handsome  country 
seats  and  mansions  on  both  sides  of  the  Hudson ;  the  busy  little 
village  of  Catskill  and  the  Catskill  River  in  plain  view,  all 
unite  in  a  charming  panorama.  The  drives  and  pedestrian 
routes  in  the  vicinity  of  Catskill  are  well  condensed  by  Walton 
Van  Loan,  a  resident  of  the  village,  whose  guide  to  the  Catskills 
is  the  best  on  this  region  and  will  be  of  great  service  to  all  who 
would  like  to  understand  thoroughly  the  mountain  district. 

Tlie  Northern  Catskills.— The  northern  and  southern  divis- 
ions have  been  indicated  not  so  much  as  mountain  divisions,  but 
in  order  to  better  emphasize  the  two  routes,  which  converge 
from  Kingston  and  Catskill  toward  each  other,  drawn  by  two 
principal  points  of  attraction,  the  Catskill  Mountain  House  and 
the  Hotel  Kaaterskill. 

The  Catskill  Mountain  House  has  been  widely  known  for 
seventy  years.  The  original  i)roprietor  had  the  choice  of  loca- 
tion in  1823,  when  the  entire  range  was  a  vast  mountain  wilder- 
ness, and  he  made  excellent  selection  for  its  site.  It  seems  as  if 
the  rocky  balcony  was  especially  reared  two  thousand  feet  above 
the  valley  for  a  grand  outlook  and  restful  resort.  "What  can 
you  see,"  exclaimed  Natty  Bumppo,  one  of  Cooper's  favorite 
characters.      "Why,   all  the  world ; "  and  this  is   the  feeling 


212  THE  HUDSON. 

to-day  of  everyone  looking-  down  from  this  point  upon  the  Hud- 
son Valley. 

The  Mountain  House  Park  has  a  valley  frontage  of  over  three 
miles  in  extent,  and  consists  of  2,780  acres  of  magnificent  forest  and 
farming  lands,  traversed  in  all  directions  by  many  miles  of  car„ 
riage  roads  and  paths,  leading  to  various  noted  places  of  interest- 
The  Crest,  Newman's  Ledge,  Bear's  Den,  Prospect  Rock  on 
North  Mountain,  and  Eagle  Rock  and  Palenville  Overlook  on 
South  Mountain,  from  which  the  grandest  views  of  the  region 
are  obtained,  are  contained  in  the  property.  It  also  includes 
within  its  boundaries  North  and  South  Lakes,  both  plentifully 
stocked  with  various  kind  of  fish  and  well  supplied  with  boats  and 
canoes.  The  atmosphere  is  delightful,  invigorating  and  pure ; 
the  great  elevation  and  surrounding  forest  render  it  free  from 
malaria.  The  temperature  is  alway  fifteen  to  twenty  degrees 
lower  than  at  Catskill  village.  New  York  City  or  Philadelphia. 

Within  the  past  ten  years  these  mountains  have  been  brought 
into  closer  touch  with  the  outer  world  largely  through  the 
efforts  of  C.  L.  Beach,  Commodore  Van  Santvoord,  President  of 
the  Hudson  River  Day  Line  ;  George  Harding,  the  well-known 
lawyer  of  Philadelphia,  proprietor  of  the  Hotel  Kaaterskill, 
F.  B.  Thurber,  George  Wingate,  Mrs.  Wheeler  and  others. 

The  Otis  Elevating  Bailway,  which  extends  from  Otis  Junction 
on  the  Catsl'ill  3foimtain  Eaihcay  to  Otis  Summit,  a  noble  altitude 
of  the  Catskill  Range,  makes  the  Mountain  House  especially 
easy  of  access.  The  incline  railway,  7,000  feet  in  length, 
ascends  1,600  feet  and  attains  an  elevation  of  2,200  feet  above  the 
Hudson  River.  "  In  length,  elevation,  overcome  and  carry- 
ing capacity  it  exceeds  any  other  incline  railway  in  the  world. 


THE  HUDSON. 


213 


It  was  built  and  first  opened  for  traffic  in  1892.  It  is  operated  by 
powerful  stationary  engines  and  huge  steel  wire  cables,  and  the 
method  employed  is  similar  to  that  used  by  the  Otis  Elevator 
Company  for  elevators  in  buildings.  Every  safeguard  has  been 
provided,  so  that  an  accident  of  any  kind  is  practically  impossi- 
ble.    Should  the  machinery   break,  the   cables   snap  or  track 


KAATERSKILL    FALLS. 


spread,  an  ingenious  automatic  device  would  stop  the  cars  at 
once.  A  passenger  car  and  baggage  car  are  attached  to  each 
end  of  double  cables  which  pass  around  immense  drums  located 
at  the  top  of  the  incline.  While  one  train  rises  the  other  descends, 
passing  each  other  midway.    By  this  arrangement  trains  carrying 


214  THE  HUDSON. 

from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  passengers  can  be  run  in  each 
direction  every  fifteen  minutes  when  necessary,  the  time  required 
for  a  trip  being  only  ten  minutes.  This  is  a  vast  improvement 
over  the  old  way  of  making  the  ascent  of  the  mountains  by  stage, 
as  it  reduces  the  time  fully  one  and  a  half  hours,  besides  adding 
greatly  to  the  pleasure  of  the  trip.  The  ride  up  the  mountains 
on  the  incline  railway  is  a  novel  and  delightful  experience,  and 
is  alone  worth  a  visit  to  the  Catskills.  As  the  train  ascends,  the 
magnificient  panorama  of  the  valley  of  the  Hudson,  extending 
for  miles  and  miles,  is  gradually  unfolded  ;  while  the  river  itself, 
like  a  ribbon  of  silver  glistening  in  the  sun,  and  the  Berkshire 
Hills  in  the  distance  seem  to  rise  to  the  view  of  the  passenger. 
At  the  summit  of  the  incline,  stages  are  taken  for  the  Hotel 
Kaaterskill  and  Catskill  Mountain  House  (Mountain  House  only 
a  short  walk,  300  ft.),  while  passengers  for  the  Laurel  House, 
Haines  Coi  ners,  Ontiora,  Sunset,  Twilight,  Santa  Cruz,  Elka 
Parks,  and  Tannersville,  take  the  trains  of  the  Kaaterskill 
Bailroad,  ^/hich  connect  with  the  Otis  Elevating  Bailway.^^ 

Two  miles  from  the  hotel  are  the  Kaaterskill  Falls.  The 
waters  fall  perpendicularly  175  feet  and  afterward  85  feet  more. 
The  amphitheatre  behind  the  cascade  is  the  scene  of  one  of 
Bryant's  finest  poems : 

"  From  greens  and  shades  where  the  Kaaterskill  leaps 
From  cliffs  where  the  wood  flowers  cling;" 
and  we  recall  the  lines  which  express  so  beautifully  the  well- 
nigh  fatal  dream 

'*  Of  that  dreaming  one 
By  the  base  of  that  icy  steep, 

When  over  his  stiffening  limbs  begun 
The  deadly  slumber  of  frost  to  creep." 


RIP  VAN  WINKLE'S  RETURN. 


THE  HUDSON. 


21T 


About  half-way  up  the  mountain  is  the  place  said  to  be  the 
dreamland  of  Rip  Van  Winkle— the  o-reatest  character  of 
American  mythology,  more  real  than  the  heroes  of  Homer  or 
the  massive  gods  of  Olympus.  The  railway,  however,  has  rather 
dispensed  with  Rip  Van  Winkle.  The  old  drivers  had  so  long 
pointed  out  the   identical  spot  where   he  slept  that  they  had 


LOWER  FALLS  OF  THE  KAATERSKILL. 

come  to  believe  in  it,  but  his  spirit  still  haunts  the  entire  lo- 
cality, and  we  can  get  along  without  his  decidedly  open  air  bed- 
room. It  will  not  be  necessary  to  quote  from  a  recent  guide- 
book that  "  no  intelligent  person  probably  believes  that  such  a 
character  ever  really  existed  or  had  such  an  experience."  The 
explanation  is  almost  as  humorous  as  the  legend. 


^18  THE  HUDSON. 

The  Hotel  Kaaterskill,  whose  name  and  fame  went  over  a 
•continent  even  before  it  was  fairly  completed,  is  located  on  the 
summit  of  the  Kaaterskill  Mountain,  three  miles  by  carriage  or 
one  by  path  from  the  Catskill  Mountain  House.  It  is  the  largest 
mountain  hotel  in  the  world,  accommodating  1,200  guests,  and 
the  Catskills  have  reason  to  feel  proud  of  this  distinction.  They 
have  for  many  years  had  the  best-known  legend — the  wonderful 
and  immortal  Rip  Van  Winkle.  They  have  always  enjoyed  the 
finest  valley  views  of  any  mountain  outlook,  and  they  have  a  right 
to  the  best  hotels.  The  Kaaterskill,  opened  in  1881,  is  constructed 
on  the  most  improved  of  modern  designs,  with  elegant  parlors, 
suites  of  rooms  for  families,  and  steam  heat  and  open-fire  grates 
for  dining-halls  and  parlors.  Elevators  run  to  all  floors,  and  the 
rooms  are  supplied  with  gas,  electric  bells  and  elegant  beds  and 
furnishings.  The  surrounding  park  includes  groves,  lakes, 
lawn  tennis  and  other  play-grounds,  with  every  means  of  enjoy- 
ment. Billiard  rooms,  bowling  alleys  and  telegraph  offices  are 
in  the  hotel. 

It  may  seem  antiquated  and  old-fashioned  in  the  midst  of  ele- 
vated railroads  to  speak  of  mountain  roads,  but  that  to  Palenville, 
as  we  last  saw  it,  was  a  beautiful  piece  of  engineering — as  smooth 
as  a  floor  and  securely  built.  It  looks  as  if  it  were  intended  to 
last  for  a  century,  the  stone  work  is  so  thoroughly  finished.  The 
views  from  this  road  are  superior  to  anything  we  have  seen  in 
the  Catskills,  and  the  great  sweep  of  the  mountain  clove  is  as 
grand  and  beautiful  as  the  Sierra  Nevadas  on  the  way  to  the 
Yosemite. 

We  must  not  forget,  moreover,  another  Catskill  drive  that  we 
took  a  few  years  ago.     Starting  one  morning  with  a  pair  of  mus- 


THE  HUDSON.  219 

tang"  ponies  from  Phoenicia,  we  called  at  the  Kaaterskill,  the 
Catskill  Mountain  House,  and  the  Laurel  House,  took  supper  at 
Catskill  Village,  and  reached  New  York  that  evening  at  eleven 
o'clock.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  we  were  on  business — our 
Guide  book  was  on  the  press — and  we  went  as  if  one  of  the 
printers'  best-known  companions  was  on  our  trail. 

Irving's  description  of  his  first  voyage  up  the  Hudson  brings 
us  more  delicately  and  gracefully  down  from  these  mountains  to 
the  Hudson — the  level  highway  to  the  sea.  ''Of  all  the  scenery 
of  the  Hudson,  the  Kaatskill  Mountains  had  the  most  witching 
etfect  on  my  boyish  imagination.  Never  shall  I  forget  the  effect 
upon  me  of  my  first  view  of  them,  predominating  over  a  wide 
extent  of  country — part  wild,  woody  and  rugged:  part  softened 
away  into  all  the  graces  of  cultivation.  As  we  slowly  floated 
along,  I  lay  on  the  deck  and  watched  them  through  a  long  sum- 
mer's day,  undergoing  a  thousand  mutations  under  the  magical 
effects  of  atmosphere:  sometimes  seeming  to  approach;  at  other 
times  to  recede:  now  almost  melting  into  hazy  distance,  now 
burnished  by  the  setting  sun,  until  in  the  evening  they  printed 
themselves  against  the  glowing  sky  in  the  deep  purple  of  an 
Italian  landscape." 


220  THE  HUDSON. 


CATSKILL  TO  HUDSON. 

Leaving  Catskill  dock,  the  Prospect  Park  Hotel  looks  down 
upon  us  from  a  commandino-  point  on  the  west  bank,  while  north 
of  this  can  be  seen  Cole's  Grove,  where  Thomas  Cole,  the  artist, 
lived,  who  painted  the  well-known  series,  the  Voyag-e  of  Life. 
On  the  east  side  is  Rodger's  Island,  where  it  is  said  the  last  bat- 
tle was  fought  between  the  Mahicans  and  Mohawks ;  and  it  is 
narrated  that  "  as  the  old  king-  of  the  Mahicans  was  dying,  after 
the  conflict,  he  commanded  his  regalia  to  be  taken  off  and  his 
son  put  into  the  kingship  while  his  eyes  were  yet  clear  to  behold 
him.  Over  forty  years  had  he  worn  it,  from  the  time  he  received 
it  in  London  from  Queen  Anne.  He  asked  his  son  to  kneel  at 
his  couch,  and,  putting  his  withered  hand  across  his  brow, 
placed  the  feathery  crown  upon  his  head,  and  gave  him  the  sil- 
rer-mounted  tomahawk — symbols  of  po\^  er  to  rule  and  power  to 
execute.  Then,  looking  up  to  the  heavens,  he  said,  as  if  in 
despair  for  his  race,  '  The  hills  are  our  pillows,  and  the  broad 
plains  to  the  west  our  hunting-grounds  ;  our  brothers  are  called 
into  the  bright  wigwam  of  the  Everlasting,  and  our  bones  lie 
upon  the  fields  of  many  battles ;  but  the  wisdom  of  the  dead  is 
given  to  the  living.'  " 

On  the  east  bank  of  the  Hudson,  above  this  historic  island,  is 
the  residence  of  Frederick  E.  Church,  artist.  It  commands  a 
wide  view  of  the  Berkshire  Hills  to  the  eastward,  and  westward 
to  the  Catskills.  Dr.  Sabine's  residence  is  immediately  north, 
and  two  miles  beyond  is  the  home  of  O.  D.  Ashley.  The  State 
Reformatory  is  now  seen  on  the  bluff  immediately  below   the 


THE   HUDSON.  221 

South  Bay.  The  hill  above  Rodg-ers's  Island,  on  the  east  bank, 
is  known  as  Mount  Merino,  one  of  the  first  places  to  which  Merino 
sheep  were  brought  in  this  country. 

Hudson,  (115  miles  from  New  York :  population  9,633),  was 
founded  in  the  year  1784,  by  thirty  persons  from  Providence, 
R.  I.,  and  incorporated  as  a  city  in  1785.  The  city  is  situated  on 
a  sloping  promontory,  bounded  by  the  North  and  South  Bays. 
Its  main  streets,  Warren.  Union  and  Allen,  run  east  and  west  a 
little  more  than  a  mile  in  length,  crossed  by  Front  Street,  First, 
Second.  Third,  etc.  Main  Street  reaches  from  Promenade  Park 
to  Prospect  Hill.  The  Park  is  on  the  bluff  just  above  the  steam- 
boat landing :  we  believe  this  city  is  the  only  one  on  the  Hudson 
that  has  a  promenade  ground  overlooking  the  river.  It  com- 
mands a  fine  view  of  the  Catskill  Mountains,  Mount  Merino,  and 
miles  of  the  river  scenery.  The  city  has  always  enjoyed  the 
reputation  of  hospitality.  It  is  the  western  terminus  of  the  Hud- 
son and  Chatham  Division  of  the  Boston  &  Albany  Bail  road,  and 
also  of  the  Kinderhook  &  Hudson  Hallway. 

From  an  old-time  English  history  we  read  that  Hudson  grew 
more  rapidly  than  any  other  town  in  America  except  Baltimore. 
Standing  at  the  head  of  ship  navigation  it  would  naturally  have 
become  a  great  port  had  it  not  been  for  the  steam  engine  and 
the  steamboat. 

There  was  also  a  good  sprinkling  of  Nantucket  blood,  and  vis- 
itors from  that  quaint  old  town  recognize  in  portico,  stoop  and 
window  a  familiar  architecture.  An  electric  surface  line  on 
Warren  Street,  showing  public  s])irit,  has  proved  a  successful 
enterprise. 


222  THE  HUDSON. 

Columbia  Springs,  an  old-fashioned  resort  with  pleasant 
g-rove  and  white  sulj^hur  water,  lies  four  miles  northeast  of  Hud- 
son. Its  medicinal  qualities  are  attested  by  scores  of  physicians, 
and  by  hundreds  who  have  been  benefited  and  cured.  The  hotel 
has  a  fine  location  in  the  midst  of  a  woodland  many  acres  in  ex- 
tent, and  we  know  of  no  quieter  spot  for  those  requiring  repose 
and  seeking-  relief  from  the  excitement  of  business.  The  drive 
is  pleasant  and  the  return  can  be  made  through — 

Claverack,  three  and  a  half  miles  east  of  Hudson,  a  restful 
old-fashioned  village.  It  is  situated  at  the  crossing  of  the  old 
Post  Road  and  the  Columbia  turnpike  and  was  county  seat  of 
Columbia  in  Knickerbocker  days.  The  Court  House  on  its  well- 
shaded  street  was  for  many  years  the  home  of  the  late  Peter 
Hoffman.  Claverack  College  has  a  delightful  location,  with 
pleasant  wooded  grounds  commanding  a  noble  view  of  the  Cats- 
kills.  The  late  Rev.  Alonzo  Flack,  President,  had  a  stately 
residence  near  at  hand,  most  complete  in  the  county.  He  was 
an  enthusiast  in  the  cause  of  education  and  laid  the  foundation 
of  many  successful  careers  in  life.  Claverack  graduates  have  an 
annual  dinner  in  New  York,  and  the  College  preserves  its  pres- 
tige under  the  successful  management  of  the  founder's  son, 
President  Arthur  Flack.  The  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  built  of 
bricks  brought  from  Holland,  and  only  a  short  distance  north  of 
the  College  grounds,  wears  on  its  brow  wrinkles  of  antiquity, 
emphasized  by  the  date  1767  on  its  walls.  It  is  said  that  General 
Washington  encami)ed  here,  but  there  is  no  historical  data  to 
confirm  the  tradition.  Claverack  Falls  is  well  worthy  of  a  visit, 
and  can  easily  be  done  in  an  afternoon  stroll.  Copake  Lake,  to 
the  southeast,  can  be  reached  by  a  drive  of  about  twelve  miles. 


THE  HUDSON.  223 

a  fine  sheet  of  water  ten  miles  in  circumference,  with  a  pictur- 
esque island  connected  to  the  main  land  by  a  causeway.  Forty 
years  ago  a  romantic  ruin  of  a  stone  mansion  still  stood  on  this 
island,  where  the  writer,  when  a  boy,  used  to  wander  around  the 
deserted  rooms  looking-  for  ghosts,  but  the  walls  were  torn 
down  July  4th,  1866,  as  the  place  was  frequented  every  summer 
by  a  remnant  of  the  old  Stockbridg-e  tribe.  The  neig-hbors 
thoug-ht  the  best  way  of  getting  rid  of  the  "  noble  red  men  "  was 
to  burn  up  the  hive.  The  mansion  was  built  by  a  Miss  Living- 
ston, but  she  soon  exchanged  her  island  home  for  Florence  and 
the  classic  associations  of  Italy.  Bash-Bish,  one  mile  from 
Copake  Station  on  the  Harlem  Railroad,  one  of  the  most  romantic 
glens  in  our  country,  has  been  visited  and  eulogized  by  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  Bayard  Taylor  and  many  distinguished  writers 
and  travelers.  Soon  after  leaving  Copake  Station  a  beautiful 
carriage  road,  but  extremely  narrow,  strikes  the  left  bank  of 
this  mountain  stream,  and  for  a  long  distance  follows  its  rocky 
channel.  On  the  right  a  thickly  wooded  hill  rises  abruptly 
more  than  a  thousand  feet — a  perfect  wall  of  foliage  from  base 
to  summit.  A  mile  brings  one  to  the  lower  falls  ;  the  upper  falls 
are  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  up  the  gorge.  The  height 
of  the  Falls,  with  the  Rapids  between,  is  about  300  feet  above 
the  little  rustic  bridge  at  the  foot  of  the  Lower  Falls.  The  glen 
between  is  a  place  of  wild  beauty,  with  rocks  and  huge  boulders 
"  in  random  ruin  piled." 

Hillsdale  Village  has  a  beautiful  location  and  affords  a  good 
central  point  for  visiting  Mount  Everett,  with  its  wide  i)rospect 
(altitude  2,624  feet),  Copake  Lake  six  miles  to  the  west,  Bash- 
Bish  Falls  six  miles  south,  and  Po-ka-no  five  miles  to  the  north- 


'224  THE  HUDSON. 

east,  sometimes  known  as  White's  Hill.  The  Po-ka-no,  Colum- 
bia County's  noblest  outlook,  1,713  feet,  commands  the  Hudson 
valley  for  eighty  miles  ;  and  the  owner  told  me  that  one  Fourth 
of  July  he  went  up  there  to  see  the  fireworks  at  Newburgh. 
From  the  summit  can  be  seen  "Monument  Mountain  "  and  the 
Green  Mountains  of  Vermont.  At  its  base  glides  the  "  Green 
River  Creek,"  immortalized  by  Bryant,  which  flows  into  the 
Housatonic  near  Great  Barrington.  From  this  point  the  drive 
can  be  continued  to  North  Egremont,  South  Egremont,  Great 
Barrington  and  Monument  Mountain.  Before  the  days  of  rail- 
roads the  Columbia  turnpike  was  the  great  trade  artery  of  the 
City  of  Hudson.  It  was  interesting  to  hear  William  Cullen 
Bryant  recount  his  experiences  in  driving  from  his  home  in 
Great  Barrington  over  the  well-known  highway  on  his  way  to 
New  York.  The  Housatonic  and  Harlem  Bailroads  tapped  its  life 
and  has  left  many  a  sleepy  village  along  the  route,  once  astir  in 
staging  days.  The  stone  for  Girard  College  was  drawn  from 
Massachusetts  quarries  over  this  route  and  shipped  to  Phila- 
delphia from  Hudson.  The  Lebanon  Valley,  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  county,  is  considered  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
State,  and  said  by  Sir  Henry  Vincent,  the  English  orator,  to 
resemble  the  far-famed  valley  of  Llangollen,  in  Wales.  The 
Wy-a-mon-ack  Creek  flows  through  the  Valley,  joining  its  waters 
with  the  Kinderhook.  Quechee  Lake  is  near  at  hand,  where 
Miss  Warner  was  born,  author  of  "Quechee"  and  the  ""Wide 
Wide  World."  Lebanon  Springs  is  an  old-time  pleasant  sum- 
mer resort,  and  its  hotel  registers  preserve  the  autograjihs  of 
many  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  our  country.     The   Shaker 


THE  HUDSON.  225 

family  on  Mt.  Lebanon  is  well  worthy  of  a  visit.     A  Sunday  serv- 
ice reveals  some  of  the  peculiarities  of  their  worship. 

Lindenwald,  a  solid  and  substantial  residence,  home  of 
President  Martin  Van  Buren,  where  he  died  in  1862,  is  two  miles 
from  the  charming  village  of  Kinderhook.  Columbia  County 
just  missed  the  proud  distinction  of  rearing  two  Presidents,  as 
Samuel  J.  Tilden  was  born  in  the  town  of  Lebanon.  Elisha  Wil- 
liams, John  Van  Buren  and  many  others  have  given  lustre  to 
her  legal  annals. 


226  THE  HUDSON. 


FROM  HUDSON  TO  ALBANY. 

Atliens.  Directly  opposite  Hudson,  and  connected  with  it 
by  ferry,  is  the  classically  named  villao-e  of  Athens.  An  old 
Mahican  settlement  known  as  Potick  was  located  a  little  back 
from  the  river.  We  are  now  in  the  midst  of  the  great  "  Ice  In- 
dustry," which  reaches  from  below  Staatsburgh  to  Castleton  and 
Albany,  well  descl'ibed  by  John  Burroughs  in  his  article  on  the 
Hudson  :  "  No  man  sows,  yet  many  men  reap  a  harvest  from  the 
Hudson.  Not  the  least  important  is  the  ice  harvest,  which  is 
eagerly  looked  for,  and  counted  upon  by  hundreds,  yes,  thousands 
of  laboring  men  along  its  course.  Ice  or  no  ice  sometimes  means 
bread  or  no  bread  to  scores  of  families,  and  it  means  added  or  di- 
minished comforts  to  many  more.  It  is  a  crop  that  takes  two  or 
three  weeks  of  rugged  winter  weather  to  grow,  and,  if  the  water 
is  very  roily  or  brackish,  even  longer.  It  is  seldom  worked  till  it 
presents  seven  or  eight  inches  of  clear  water  ice.  Men  go  out 
from  time  to  time  and  examine  it,  as  the  farmer  goes  out  and 
examines  his  grain  or  grass,  to  see  when  it  will  do  to  cut.  If 
there  comes  a  deep  fall  of  snow  the  ice  is  "  pricked  "  so  as  to  let 
the  water  up  through  and  form  snow  ice.  A  band  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  men,  about  a  yard  apart,  each  armed  with  a  chisel-bar, 
and  marching  in  line,  puncture  the  ice  at  each  step,  with  a 
single  sharp  thrust.  To  and  fro  they  go,  leaving  a  belt  behind 
them  that  presently  becomes  saturated  with  water.  But  ice,  to 
be  of  first  quality,  must  grow  from  beneath,  not  from  above.  It 
is  a  crop  quite  as  uncertain  as  any  other.  A  good  yield  every 
two  or  three  years,  as  they  say  of  wheat  out  West,  is  about  all. 


THE  HUDSON.  227 

that  can  be  counted  upon.  When  there  is  an  abundant  harvest, 
after  the  ice-houses  are  filled,  they  stack  great  quantities  of  it, 
as  the  farmer  stacks  his  surplus  hay.  Such  a  fruitful  winter 
was  that  of  '74-5,  when  the  ice  formed  twenty  inches  thick. 
The  stacks  are  given  only  a  temporary  covering  of  boards,  and 
are  the  first  ice  removed  in  the  season.  The  cutting  and  gather- 
ing of  the  ice  enlivens  these  broad,  white,  desolate  fields 
amazingly.  My  house  happens  to  stand  where  I  look  down  upon 
the  busy  scene,  as  from  a  hill-top  upon  a  river  meadow  in  hay- 
ing time,  only  here  figures  stand  out  much  more  sharply  than 
they  do  from  a  summer  meadow.  There  is  the  broad,  straight, 
blue-black  canal  emerging  into  view,  and  running  nearly  across 
the  river ;  this  is  the  highway  that  lays  open  the  farm.  On 
either  side  lie  the  fields,  or  ice  meadows,  each  marked  out  by 
cedar  or  hemlock  boughs.  The  farther  one  is  cut  first,  and, 
when  cleared,  shows  a  large,  long,  black  parallelogram  in  the 
midst  of  the  plain  of  snow.  Then  the  next  one  is  cut,  leaving  a 
strip  or  tongue  of  ice  between  the  two  for  the  horses  to  move 
and  turn  upon.  Sometimes  nearly  two  huhdred  men  and  boys, 
with  numerous  horses,  are  at  work  at  once,  marking,  plowing, 
planing,  scraping,  sawing,  hauling,'  chiseling;  some  floating 
down  the  pond  on  great  square  islands  towed  by  a  horse,  or  their 
fellow  workmen ;  others  distributed  along  the  canal,  bending  to 
their  ice-hooks  ;  others  upon  the  bridges,  separating  the  blocks 
with  their  chisel  bars ;  others  feeding  the  elevators  ;  while 
knots  and  straggling  lines  of  idlers  here  and  there  look  on  in 
cold  discontent,  unable  to  get  a  job.  The  best  crop  of  ice  is  an 
early  crop.  Late  in  the  season  or  after  January,  the  ice  is  apt 
to  get  "  sun-struck,"  when  it  becomes  "  shaky,"  like  a  piece  of 


228  THE  HUDSON. 

poor  timber.  The  sun,  when  he  sets  about  destroying'  the  ice, 
does  not  simply  melt  it  from  the  surface — that  were  a  slow  pro- 
cess ;  but  he  sends  his  shafts  into  it  and  separates  it  into  spikes 
and  needles — in  short,  makes  kindling-wood  of  it,  so  as  to  con- 
sume it  the  quicker.  One  of  the  prettiest  sights  about  the  ice 
harvesting  is  the  elevator  in  operation.  When  all  works  well, 
there  is  an  unbroken  procession  of  the  great  crystal  blocks  slowly 
ascending  this  incline.  They  go  up  in  couples,  arm  in  arm, 
as  it  were,  like  friends  up  a  stairway,  glowing  and  changing  in 
the  sun,  and  recalling  the  precious  stones  that  adorned  the  walls 
of  the  celestial  city.  When  they  reach  the  platform  where  they 
leave  the  elevator,  they  seem  to  step  off  like  things  of  life  and 
volition  ;  they  are  still  in  pairs  and  separate  only  as  they  enter 
upon  the  "'runs.-'  But  here  they  have  an  ordeal  to  pass  through, 
for  they  are  subjected  to  a  rapid  inspection  and  the  black  sheep 
are  separated  from  the  flock  ;  every  square  with  a  trace  of  sedi- 
ment or  earth-stain  in  it,  whose  texture  is  not  perfect  and  un- 
clouded crystal,  is  rejected  and  sent  hurling-  down  into  the  abyss ; 
a  man  with  a  sharp  eye  in  his  head  and  a  sharp  ice-hook  in  his 
hand  picks  out  the  impure  and  fragmentary  ones  as  they  come 
along  and  sends  them  quickly  overboard.  Those  that  pass  the 
examination  g-lide  into  the  building  along  the  gentle  incline, 
and  are  switched  off  here  and  there  upon  branch  runs,  and  dis- 
tributed to  all  parts  of  the  immense  interior. 

Passing  west  of  the  Hudson  Flats  we  see  North  Bay,  crossed 
by  the  New  Yoi'k  Central  Railroad.  Kinderhook  Creek  meets 
the  river  about  three  miles  north  of  Hudson,  directly  above 
which  is  Stockport  Station  for  Columbiaville.  Four  Mile  Light- 
house is  now  seen  on  the  oi)posite  bank  between  the  house  of 


HiiS>  OF  TIDE  >\^t:i{ 

_       — ^-        eowr«/M/«s  

M«MeS«r  STREAM*  I*IA«0S  ... HtKWHTS^^ MO UNTAl  N S 
AMXMdin^  » thelateM  Coast  Siir\-(-^-    ~ 

— : _     ALSO   ~  ' 

TMiE  MAimiES  or  PROMINENT  RESIDENCES 


THE 


THE  OLD  REACHES  orT.cHUOSOH.HD  OLD  INDIAN  NAMES 

^;; — ^__       ._       PIBJJSHKB   BV     —         -:;- 
^>2_^  K  Y  A IV  T     I'  >"  I  <>  >i_^ 

267  StuyvesairtAve.Brooklyn.N.Y. 

Miap  rOTwanladi  on  re«etpit  of 
PRICE  50  Cts 


THE  HUDSON.  229 

John  Burchill  to  the  south  and  George  Houg-htaling  to  the 
north.  Nutten  Hook,  or  Coxsackie  Station,  is  four  miles  above 
Stockport.  Opposite  this  point,  and  connected  by  a  ferry,  is  the 
villag-e  of — 

Coxsackie  (name  derived  from  Kaak-aki,  which  is  said  to 
have  signified  a  place  of  geese).  Two  miles  to  the  north  Stuj've- 
sant  Landing  is  seen  on  the  east  bank,  the  nearest  station  on  the 
New  York  Central  &  Hudson  River  Bailroad,  by  carriage,  to 
Valatie  and  Kinderhook  Village.  The  name  Kinderhook  is 
said  to  have  had  its  origin  from  a  point  on  the  Hudson  prolific 
of  children ;  and  as  the  children  were  always  out  of  doors  to  see 
the  passing  craft,  it  was  known  as  Kinder-hook,  or  "children's 
point."  Passing  Bronk's  Island,  due  west  of  which  empties 
Coxsackie  Creek,  we  see  Stuyvesant  Light-house  on  our  right, 
on  our  left  the  homes  of  James  K.  Bronk,  A^ndrew  Matthews, 
E.  S.  Colburn,  J.  C.  Sherman,  A.  L.  Wickes,  T.  E.  Cornell,  J.  B. 
Marshall,  or  their  successors  in  the  ever-changing  map  of  hu- 
man existence,  and  approach  New  Baltimore,  a  pleasant  village 
on  the  west  bank,  with  sloop  and  barge  industry.  About  a  mile 
above  the  landing  is  the  meeting  point  of  four  counties  :  Greene 
and  Albany  on  the  west,  Columbia  and  Rensselaer  on  the  east. 
Beeren  Island,  connected  with  Coeyman's  Landing  by  small 
steamer,  now  a  picnic  resort,  lies  near  the  west  bank,  where  it 
will  be  remembered  the  first  white  child  was  born  on  the  Hudson. 
Here  was  the  Castle  of  Rensselaertein,  before  which  Anthony 
Van  Corlear  read  again  and  again  the  proclamation  of  Peter 
Stuyvesant,  and  from  which  he  returned  with  a  diplomatic  re- 
ply, forming  one  of  the  most  humorous  jjages  in  Irving's  Knick- 
erbocker.    Threading  our  way  through  low-lying  islands  and 


230  THE  HUDSON. 

river  flats,  and  "  slowing-  down"  occasionally  on  meeting'  canal 
boats  or  other  river  craft,  we  pass  Coeyman's  on  our  left  and  Lower 
Schodack  Island  on  our  rig-ht,  due  east  of  which  is  the  station  of 
Schodack  Landing".  The  writer  of  this  Hand-book,  when  a  law- 
student  at  Troy,  remembers  distinctly  a  winter's  evening  walk 
from  Schodack  Landing,  crossing  the  frozen  Hudson  and  snow- 
covered  island  on  an  ill-defined  trail.  He  was  on  his  way  to 
deliver  his  first  lecture,  February,  1868,  and  his  subject  was 
"  The  Legends  and  Poetry  of  the  Hudson."  Since  that  time  he 
has  written  and  re-written  a  guide  to  the  river  for  twenty  years, 
so  that  the  present  Hand-book  is  not  a  thing  of  yesterday.  The 
next  morning,  on  his  return  to  Schodack,  he  had  for  his  com- 
panion a  young  man  from  twenty  or  thirty  miles  inland,  who 
had  never  seen  a  train  of  cars  except  in  the  distance.  On  reach- 
ing the  platform  one  of  the  New  York  expresses  swept  by,  and 
as  he  caught  the  motion  of  the  bell  cord  he  turned  and  said  : 
"Do  they  drive  it  with  that  little  string ?  "  Lower  Schodack 
Island,  Mills  Plaat  (also  an  island)  and  Upper  Schodack  Island 
reach  almost  to — 

Castleton,  a  pleasant  village  with  main  street  lying  close  to 
the  river,  on  its  eastern  bank.  The  cliffs,  a  few  miles  to  the 
north,  were  known  to  the  Indians  as  Scoti-ack,  or  place  of  the 
ever-burning  council-fire,  which  gave  the  name  of  Schodack  to 
the  township,  where  King  Aepgin,  on  the  8th  of  April,  1680,  sold 
to  Van  Rensselaer  "  all  that  tract  of  country  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Hudson,  extending  from  Beeren  Island  up  to  Smack's  Island, 
and  in  breadth  two  days' journey." 

The  Mahican  Tribe  originally  occupied  all  the  east  bank  of 
the  Hudson  north  of  Roeliffe  Jansen's  Kill,  near  Germantown,  to 


THE  HUDSON.  231 

the  head  waters  of  the  Hudson  ;  and  on  the  west  bank,  from 
Cohoes  to  Catskill.  The  town  of  Schodack  was  central,  and  a. 
signal  displayed  from  the  hills  near  Castleton  could  be  seen  for 
thirty  miles  in  every  direction.  After  the  Mahicans  left  the 
Hudson,  they  went  to  Westenhook,  or  Housatonic,  to  the  hills 
south  of  Stockbridge  ;  and  then,  on  invitation  of  the  Oneidas, 
removed  to  Oneida  County,  in  1785,  where  they  lived  until  1821, 
when,  with  other  Indians  of  New  York,  they  purchased  a  tract 
of  land  near  Fox  River,  Minnesota. 

Domestic  clans  or  families  of  the  Mahicans  lingered  around 
their  ancient  seats  for  some  years  after  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, but  of  them,  one  after  another,  it  is  written,  "  They  dis- 
appeared in  the  night."  In  the  language  of  Tamerund  at  the 
death  of  Uncas,  "  The  pale-faces  are  masters  of  the  earth,  and 
the  time  of  the  red  men  has  not  yet  come  again.  My  day  has 
been  too  long.  In  the  morning  I  saw  the  sons  of  Unami  happy 
and  strong ;  and  yet  before  the  night  has  come,  have  I  lived  to 
see  the  last  warrior  of  the  race  of  the  Mahicans." 

According  to  Ruttenber,  the  names  and  location  of  the  Indian 
tribes  were  not  ascertained  with  clearness  by  the  early  Dutch 
settlers,  but  through  documents,  treaties  and  information,  sub- 
sequently obtained,  it  is  now  settled  that  the  Mahicans  held  pos- 
session "  under  sub-tribal  organizations  "  of  the  east  bank  of  the 
river  from  an  undefined  point  north  of  Albany  to  the  sea,  includ- 
ing Long  Island  ;  that  their  dominion  extended  east  to  the  Con- 
necticut, where  they  joined  kindred  tribes ;  that  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Hudson  they  ran  down  as  far  as  Catskill,  and  west  to 
Schenectady ;  that  they  were  met  on  the  west  by  the  territory 
of  the  Mohawks,  and  on  the  south  by  tribes  of  the  Lenni  Lenapes 


232  THE  HUDSON. 

or  Delawares,  whose  territory  extended  thence  to  the  sea,  and 
west  to  and  beyond  the  Delaware  River.  The  Mahicans  had  a 
castle  at  Catskill  and  at  Cohoes  Falls.  The  western  side  of  the 
Hudson,  above  Cohoes,  belonged  to  the  Mohawks,  a  branch  of 
the  Iroquois.  Therefore,  as  early  as  1630,  three  great  nations 
were  represented  on  the  Hudson — the  Mahicans,  the  Delawares 
and  the  Iroquois.  The  early  French  missionaries  refer  to  the 
"  nine  nations  of  Manhinyans,  gathered  between  Manhattan  and 
the  environs  of  Quebec."  These  several  nations  have  never  been 
accurately  designated,  although  certain  general  divisions  appear 
under  the  titles  of  Mohegan,  Wappinger,  Sequins,  etc.  "The 
government  of  the  Mahicans  was  a  democracy.  The  office  was 
hereditary  by  the  lineage  of  the  wife  ;  that  is,  the  selection  of  a 
successor  on  the  death  of  the  chief,  was  confined  to  the  female 
branch  of  the  family."  According  to  Ruttenber,  the  precise 
relation  between  the  Mahicans  of  the  Hudson  and  the  Mohegans 
under  Uncas,  the  Pequot  chief,  is  not  known.  In  a  foot-note  to 
this  statement,  he  says:  "The  identity  of  name  between  the 
Mahicans  and  Mohegans,  induces  the  belief  that  all  these  tribes 
belonged  to  the  same  stock, — although  they  differed  in  dialect, 
in  territory,  and  in  their  alliances."  The  two  Avords,  therefore, 
must  not  be  confounded. 

It  is  also  pleasant  to  remember  that  the  Mahicans  as  a  tribe 
were  true  and  faithful  to  us  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
and  when  the  six  nations  met  in  council  at  Oswego,  at  the 
request  of  Guy  Johnson  and  other  officers  of  the  British  army, 
•'  to  eat  the  flesh  and  drink  the  blood  of  aBostonian,"  Hendrich, 
the  Mahican,  made  the  pledge  for  his  tribe  at  Albany,  almost  in 


THE  HUDSON.  233 

the  eloquent  words  of  Ruth  to  Naomi,  "  Thy  people  shall  be  our 
people,  and  whither  thou  goest  we  will  be  at  your  side." 

Tlie  Mourdener's  Kill,  with  its  sad  story  of  a  girl  tied  by 
Indians  to  a  horse  and  dragged  through  the  valley,  flows  into 
the  Hudson  above  Castleton.  Two  miles  above  this  close  to  the 
steamer  channel  will  be  seen  Staats  Island  on  the  east,  with  an 
old  stone  house,  said  to  be  next  in  antiquity  to  the  "  Van  Rens- 
selaer •'  at  Greenbush.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  this  property  passed 
directly  to  the  ancestors  of  the  present  family,  the  only  property 
in  this  vicinity  never  owned  by  the  lord  of  the  manor.  Oppo- 
site the  old  stone  house,  the  point  on  the  west  bank  is  known  as 
Parda  Hook,  where  it  is  said  a  horse  was  once  drowned  in  a 
horse-race  on  the  ice,  and  hence  the  name  Parda,  for  the  old 
Hollanders  along  the  Hudson  seemed  to  have  had  a  musical  ear, 
and  delighted  in  accumulating  syllables.  (The  word  pard  is 
used  in  Spenser  for  spotted  horse,  and  still  survives  in  the  word 
leopard.) 

The  Castleton  Bar  or  '*  overslaugh,"  as  it  was  known  by  the 
river  pilots,  impeded  for  years  navigation  in  low  water.  A.  Van 
Santvoord,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Hudson  River  Day  Line,  and 
other  prominent  citizens  along  the  Hudson,  brought  the  subject 
before  the  State  Legislature,  and  work  was  commenced  in  1863. 
In  1868  the  United  States  Government  very  properly  ( as  their 
jurisdiction  extends  over  tide-water ),  assumed  the  work  of  com- 
pleting the  dykes,  and  they  now  stretch  for  miles  along  the 
banks  and  islands  of  the  upper  Hudson.  Here  and  there  along 
our  route  between  Coxsackie  and  Albany  will  be  seen  great 
dredges  deepening  and  widening  the  river  channel.  Mr. 
Charles  G.  Weir,  U.  S.  Engineer,  in  charge  of  the  Hudson  river 


234  THE  HUDSON. 

improvements,  in  a  recent  report,  says  that  the  work  of  remov- 
inof  shoals  and  other  obstructions  that  are  a  menace  to  naviga- 
tion is  progressing  satisfactorily,  and  that  dredges  are  at  work 
deepening  the  channel  from  Coxsackie  to  the  State  dam  at  Troy, 
in  accordance  with  the  act  of  Congress  of  September  19,  1890, 
which  calls  for  a  channel  12  feet  deep  and  400  feet  wide  from 
Coxsackie  to  the  foot  of  Broadway,  Troy,  and  thence  12  feet 
deep  and  300  feet  wide  to  the  State  dam. 

It  is  estimated  by  the  Board  of  Engineers  that  it  will  cost 
$2,447,906.56,  and  the  contract  was  let  in  September,  1892.  It 
aslo  calls  for  the  removal  of  4,620,048  cubic  yards  of  rock.  It  is 
estimated  that  it  will  take  four  years  to  complete  the  work. 

The  plan  provides  for  a  system  of  longitudinal  dykes  to  con- 
fine the  current  sufficiently  to  allow  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the 
tidal-current  to  keep  the  channel  clear.  These  dykes  are  to  be 
gradually  brought  nearer  together  from  New  Baltimore  toward 
Troy,  so  as  to  assist  the  entrance  of  the  flood-current  and  in- 
crease its  height. 

The  engineers  report  that  the  greater  part  of  the  material 
carried  in  suspension  in  the  Hudson  river  above  Albany  is  be- 
lieved to  come  from  the  Mohawk  river,  and  its  tributary  the 
Schoharie  river,  while  the  sands  and  gravel  that  form  the  heavy 
and  obstinate  bars  near  Albany  and  chiefly  between  Albany 
and  Troy,  come  from  the  upper  Hudson. 

The  discharge  of  the  Hudson  between  Troy  and  Albany  at  its 
lowest  stage  may  be  taken  at  about  3,000  cubic  feet  per  second. 
The  river  supply,  therefore,  during  that  stage  is  inadequate  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  river  for  navigation,  independent  of  tidal 
flow. 


THE  HUDSON.  235 

The  greatest  number  of  bars  is  between  Albany  and  Troy, 
where  the  channel  is  narrow,  and  at  least  six  obstructing  bars, 
composed  of  fine  and  coarse  gravel  and  coarse  and  fine  sand,  are 
in  existence.  In  many  places  between  Albany  and  Troy  the 
navigable  depth  is  reduced  to  Ti  feet  by  the  presence  of  these  bars. 

From  Albany  to  New  Baltimore  the  depths  are  variable,  the 
prevailing  depth  being  10  feet  and  over,  with  pools  of  greater 
depth  separated  by  long  cross-over  bars,  over  which  the  greatest 
depth  does  not  exceed  9  or  10  feet.  Passing  many  delightful 
homes  on  the  west  bank  and  the  mouth  of  the  Norman's  Kill 
(Indian  name  Ta-wa-sentha,  place  of  many  dead)  and  the  Con- 
vent of  the  Sacred  Heart,  we  see  Dow's  Point  on  the  east  and 
above  this  the — 

Van  Rensselaer  Place,  with  its  port  holes  on  either  side 
of  the  door  facing  the  river,  showing  that  it  was  built  in  trouble- 
some times.  It  is  the  oldest  of  the  Patroon  manor  houses, 
built  in  1640  or  thereabouts.  It  has  been  said  that  the  adaptation 
of  the  old  tune  now  known  as  "  Yankee  Doodle  "  was  made  near 
the  well  in  the  grounds  of  the  Van  Rensselaer  Place  by  Dr. 
Richard  Shuckberg,  who  was  connected  with  the  British  Army 
when  the  colonial  troops  from  New  England  marched  into  a 
camp  at  Albany  to  join  the  British  regulars  on  their  way  to 
fight  the  French.  The  tune  was  known  in  New  England  before 
the  Revolution  as  "  Lydia  Fisher's  Jig,''  a  name  derived  from  a 
famous  lady  who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II,  and  which  has 
been  perpetuated  in  the  following  rhyme  : 

Lucy  Locket  lost  her  pocket, 

Lydia  Fisher  found  it; 

Not  a  bit  of  money  in  it, 

Only  binding  'round  it. 


a36  THE  HUDSON. 

The  appearance  of  the  troops  called  down  the  derision  of 
the  British  officers,  the  hit  of  the  doctor  became  known 
throughout  the  army,  and  the  song  was  used  as  a  method  of 
showing  contem^pt  for  the  colonials  until  after  Lexington  and 
Concord. 

Rensselaer,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  was  incorporated 
in  1896  by  the  union  of  Greenbush  and  East  Albany.  The  old 
name  of  Greenbush,  which  will  still  survive  in  East  Greenbush, 
four  miles  distant,  was  given  to  it  by  the  old  Dutch  settlers, 
and  it  was  probably  a  "green-bushed"  place  in  early  days. 
Now  pleasant  residences  and  villas  look  out  upon  the  river  from 
the  near  bank  and  distant  hillsides.  Two  railroad  bridges  and 
a  carriage  bridge  cross  the  Hudson  at  this  point.  During  the 
French  War  in  1775,  Greenbush  was  a  military  rendezvous,  and 
in  1812  the  United  States  Government  established  extensive 
barracks,  whence  troops  were  forwarded  to  Canada. 

Albany,  (144  miles  from  New  York,  population  over  100,000. 
New  York  Central  &  Hudson  JRiver  Bailroad,  Boston  d-  Albany, 
West  Shore,  Delaware  and  Hudson,  Keic  York  and  Albany  Day 
Xi?ie>nd  People's  Line.  Best  Hotel,  The  Ten  Eyck.)  Its  site 
was  called  by  the  Indians,  Shaunaugh-ta-da  (Schenectady)  or 
the  Pine  Plains.  It  was  next  known  by  the  early  Dutch  set- 
tlers as  "Beverwyck,"  "William  Stadt,"  and  "  New  Orange." 
The  seat  of  the  State  Government  was  transferred  from 
New  York  to  Albany  in  1798.  In  1714,  when  100  years  old,  it 
had  a  population  of  3,000,  one-sixth  of  whom  were  slaves.  In 
1786  it  increased  to  about  10,000.  'n  1676,  the  city  comprised 
within  the  limits  of  Pearl,  Beaver  and  Steuben  streets,  was 
surrounded  by  wooden  walls  with   six   gates.     They  were    13 


THE  HUDSON.  237 

feet  high,  made  of  timber  a  foot  square.  It  is  said  that  a  portion 
of  these  walls  were  remaining  in  1812.  The  first  railroad  in  the 
State  and  the  second  in  the  United  States  was  opened  from 
Albany  to  Schenectady  in  1831.  The  pictures  of  these  old 
coaches  are  very  amusing,  and  the  rate  of  speed  was  only  a 
slight  improvement  on  a  well-organized  stage  line.  From  an 
old  book  in  the  State  Library  we  condense  the  following  descrip- 
tion, presenting  quite  a  contrast  to  the  city  of  to-day  :  "  Albany 
lay  stretched  along  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  on  one  very  wide 
and  long  street,  parallel  to  the  Hudson.  The  space  between 
the  street  and  the  river  bank  was  occupied  by  gardens.  A  small 
but  steep  hill  rose  above  the  centre  of  the  town,  on  which  stood 
a  fort.  The  wide  street  leading  to  the  fort  (now  State  street)  had 
a  Market-Place,  Guard-House,  Town  Hall,  and  an  English  and 
Dutch  Church,  in  the  centre."  A  relic  of  these  old  days  still 
exists  in  the  Van  Rensselaer  manor-house,  deserted  and  dis- 
mantled;  but  even  in  its  desolation,  a  monument  of  archi- 
tectural elegance  and  interesting  associations.  It  is  not  only 
a  valuable  relic  of  the  colonial  period,  but  one  of  the  very  few 
existing  links  which  connect  us  with  the  feudal  institutions 
introduced  into  New  York  from  Holland  upwards  of  250  years 
ago.  The  house  was  erected  in  1765 — the  date  in  great  iron 
letters  gracing  the  outside — and  it  was  so  much  finer  and  grander 
and  more  gorgeous  than  any  other  residence  of  the  period  that 
it  looked  like  a  palace.''  It  has  not  been  inhabited,  as  the 
Albany  Argus  says,  for  many  years,  although  still  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Van  Rensselaer  family. 

Tourists  and  others  will  be  amply  repaid  in  visiting  the  new 
Capitol  building,  at  the  head  of  State  street.     It  is  open  from 


238  THE  HUDSON. 

nine  in  the  morning  until  six  in  the  evening-.  It  is  said  to  be 
larger  than  the  Capitol  at  Washington,  and  when  completed 
will  cost  more  than  any  other  structure  on  the  American  conti- 
nent. The  staircases,  the  wide  corridors,  the  Senate  Cham- 
ber, the  Assembly  Chamber,  and  the  Court  of  Appeals  room, 
attest  the  wealth  and  greatness  of  the  Empire  State.  The 
visitor  up  State  street  will  note  the  beautiful  and  commanding 
spire  of  "St.  Paul."  The  Cathedral  is  also  a  grand  structure. 
The  population  of  Albany  is  now  almost  100,000,  and  its  growth 
is  due  to  three  causes  :  First,  the  capital  was  removed  from  New 
York  to  Albany  in  1798.  Then  followed  two  great  enterprises, 
ridiculed  at  the  time  by  every  one  as  the  Fulton  Folly  and  Clin- 
ton^s  Ditch — in  other  words,  steam  navigation,  1807,  and  the  Erie 
Canal,  1825.  Its  name  was  given  in  honor  of  the  Duke  of  Al- 
bany, although  it  is  still  claimed  by  some  of  the  oldest  inhabit- 
ants that,  in  the  golden  age  of  those  far-oflf  times,  when  the 
good  old  burghers  used  to  ask  for  the  welfare  of  their  neighbors, 
the  answer  was  "All  bonnie,"  and  hence  the  name  of  the 
hill-crowned  city. 

To  condense  from  H.  P.  Phelps's  careful  Hand-book  of  "Albany 
and  the  Capitol."  In  1614  a  stockaded  trading-house  was  erected 
on  an  island  below  the  city,  well  defended  for  trading  with  the 
Indians.  In  1617  another  was  built  on  the  hill,  near  Norman's 
Kill.  The  West  Indian  Company  erected  a  fort  in  1623  near  the 
present  landing  of  the  Day  Line.  In  1664  the  province  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  English  and  the  name  was  changed  to  Albany. 
In  1686  it  was  incorporated  into  a  city.  It  was  the  meeting 
place  of  the  Constitutional  Congress  1654,  the  proposed  Consti- 
"vtion  of  which,  however,  was  never  ratified.     Washington   vis- 


THE  HUDSON.  239 

ited  it  in  1783.  The  Erie  Canal  was  opened  in  1825,  a  rail- 
road to  Schenectady  in  1832,  the  Hudson  Biver  in  185],  a  con- 
solidated road  to  Buffalo  in  1853,  and  the  Susquehanna  Bail- 
road  to  Binghamton  in  1869.  A  walk  of  five  minutes  from 
the  steamboat  landing-  brings  the  traveler  to  the  Union  Depot, 
or  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  station.  Trains  for  Saratoga  and 
the  North  also  meet  the  day  boats  at  the  landing".  State 
Street  at  one  time  was  said  to  be  the  widest  city  thoroug-h- 
fare  in  the  country,  after  Pennsylvania  Avenue  in  Washing^ton. 
The  English  and  Dutch  Churches  and  other  public  buildings, 
once  in  the  midst  of  it,  but  long  since  removed,  account  for  its 
extra  width.  The  State  Capitol  has  a  commanding  site  at  the 
head  of  State  Street.  The  old  Capitol  building  was  completed 
in  1808.  The  corner-stone  of  the  present  building  was  laid  June 
24,  1871,  and,  although  not  yet  completed,  has  been  occupied 
since  January  7,  1879.  According  to  Phelps,  '' the  size  of  the 
structure  impresses  the  beholder  at  once.  It  is  300  feet  north 
and  south  by  400  feet  east  and  west,  and  with  the  porticoes  will 
cover  three  acres  and  seven  square  feet.  The  walls  are  108  feet 
high  from  the  water-table,  and  all  this  is  worked  out  of  solid 
granite  brought,  most  of  it,  from  Hallowell,  Me. 

The  impression  produced  varies  with  various  persons.  One 
accomplished  writer  finds  it  "  not  unlike  that  made  by  the  photo- 
graphs of  those  gigantic  structures  in  the  northern  and  eastern 
parts  of  India,  which  are  seen  in  full  series  on  the  walls  of  the 
South  Kensington,  and  by  their  barbaric  profusion  of  ornamenta- 
tion and  true  magnificence  of  design  give  the  stay-at-home  Briton 
some  faint  inkling  of  the  empire  which  has  invested  his  queen 
with  another  and  more  high-sounding  title.     Yet  when  close  oti 


240  THE  HUDSON. 

hand  the  building-  does  not  bear  out  this  connection  with  Indian 
architecture  of  the  grand  style  ;  it  mig-ht  be  mere  chance  that  at 
a  distance  there  is  a  similarity  ;  or  it  may  be  that  the  smallness 
of  size  in  the  decorations  as  compared  to  the  structure  itself 
explains  fully  why  there  is  a  tendency  to  confuse  the  eye  by  the 
number  of  projections,  arches,  pillars,  shallow  recesses,  and 
what-not,  which  variegate  the  different  facades.  The  confusion 
is  not  entirely  displeasing  :  it  gives  a  sense  of  unstinted  riches, 
and  so  far  represents  exactly  the  spirit  that  has  reared  the 
pile." 

The  best  view  of  the  Capitol  and  of  Albany  is  from  the  road- 
way leading  from  East  Greenbush,  in  reference  to  which  the 
English  historian,  Edward  A.  Freeman,  says  :  "  The  American 
city  which  struck  me  most  was  Albany.  Rising  grandly  as  it 
does  from  the  noble  Hudson,  it  suggested  to  me  some  of  the 
ancient  cities  by  the  Loire.  The  general  look  of  the  city  carried 
me  so  completely  into  another  part  of  the  world  that  if  any  one 
had  come  up  and  told  me  in  French,  old  or  new,  that  the  new 
Capitol  was  Le  Chateau  de  Monseigneur  le  due  d'Albanie,  I 
could  almost  have  believed  him." 

The  Governor's  room,  the  Golden  Corridor,  the  Senate  Stair- 
case, the  Senate  Chamber,  the  Assembly  Chamber,  and  the 
Court  of  Appeals  room  are  interesting  alike  for  their  architect- 
ural stone  work,  decorations  and  general  finish.  The  State  Li- 
brary, dating  from  1818,  contains  about  150,000  volumes.  The 
Clinton  papers,  including  Andre's  documents  captured  at  Tarry- 
town,  are  the  most  interesting  of  many  valuable  manuscripts. 
Here  also  are  a  sword  and  pistol  once  belonging  to  General 
Washington.     The  Museum  of  Military  Records  and  Relics  con- 


THE  HUDSON.  241 

tains  over  800  battle  flags  of  State  regiments,  witli  several  en- 
signs captured  from  the  enemy.  Near  the  Capitol  are  the  State 
Hall  and  City  Hall,  and  on  the  right,  descending  State  street,  the 
Greological  Hall,  well  worthy  an  extended  visit.  The  present  St, 
Peter's  Episcopal  Church,  third  upon  the  site,  is  of  Schenectady 
blue  stone  with  brown  trimmings.  Its  tower  contains  "  a  chime 
of  eleven  bells  and  another  bell  marked  1751,  which  is  used  only 
to  ring  in  the  new  year."  Washington  Park,  consisting  of  eighty 
acres  and  procured  at  a  cost  of  one  million  dollars,  reached  by  a 
pleasant  drive  or  by  electric  railway,  is  a  delightful  resort.  It 
is  noted  for  its  grand  trees,  artistic  walks  and  floral  culture. 
Several  fine  statues  are  also  worthy  of  mention,  notably  that  of 
Robert  Burns,  (Charles  Calverley,  sculptor),  erected  by  money 
left  for  this  purpose  by  Mrs.  McPherson.  under  the  careful  and 
tasteful  supervison  of  one  of  Albany's  best-known  citizens,  Mr. 
Peter  Kinnear.  A  view  from  Washington  Park  takes  in  the 
Catskills  and  the  Helderberg  Monntains, 

The  Ten  Eyck. — The  completion  of  the  Capitol  marks  the 
closing  page  of  a  Great  Century  for  Albany,  and  another 
structure  is  worthy  of  this  historic  year,  bearing  a  name  fitting 
the  ancestral  origin  of  the  city.  The  Ten  Eyck  Hotel  is  an 
ornament  to  Albany.  A  good  authority  has  said  that  among 
all  the  great  hotels  for  which  the  American  nation  is  famous, 
it  is  unquestionably  the  finest  and  the  best.  This  massive 
and  imposing  structure,  built  of  stone  and  pressed  brick,  nine 
stories  in  height,  fronts  on  State  Street,  Maiden  Lane  and 
Chapel  Street,  with  main  entrance  on  State.  It  is  thoroughly 
fire-proof  throughout,  and  the  cost  of  the  building  was  some- 
thing more  than  half  a  million  of  dollars.  The  interior  is 
artistic  and  every  room  a  dream  of  beauty. 


242  ^^QS  HUDSON. 

And  now,  while  waiting-  to  "  throw  out  the  plank,"  which  puts 
a  period  to  our  Hudson  River  Division,  we  feel  like  congratu- 
lating ourselves  that  the  various  goblins  which  once  infested  the 
river  have  become  civilized,  that  the  winds  and  tides  have  been 
conquered,  and  that  the  nine-day  voyage  of  Hendrich  Hudson 
and  the  "  Half  Moon  "  has  been  reduced  to  the  nine-hour  system 
of  the  "  New  York  "  and  the  "  Albany." 

Those  who  have  traveled  over  Europe  will  certainly  appreci- 
ate the  quiet  luxury  of  an  American  steamer ;  and  this  first 
introduction  to  American  scenery  will  always  charm  the  tourist 
from  other  lands.  No  single  day's  journey  in  any  land  or  on  uny 
stream  can  present  such  variety,  interest,  and  beauty,  as  the 
trip  of  one  hundred  and  forty-four  miles  from  New  York  to 
Albany.  The  Hudson  is  indeed  c.  goodly  volume,  with  its  broad 
covers  of  green  lying  open  on  either  side  ;  and  it  might  in  truth 
be  called  a  condensed  history,  for  there  is  no  other  place  in  our 
country  where  poetry  and  romance  are  so  strangely  blended 
with  the  heroic  and  the  historic, — no  river  where  the  waves  of 
different  civilizations  have  left  so  many  waifs  upon  the  banks. 
It  is  classic  ground,  from  the  "  wilderness  to  the  sea,"  and  will 
always  be  the  poets'  corner  of  our  country ;  the  home  of  Irving, 
Willis,  and  Morris,— of  Fulton,  Morse,  and  Field,— of  Cole, 
Audubon,  and  Church, — and  of  scores  besides,  whose  names  are 
household  words. 


SOURCE  OF  THE  HUDSON. 

ALBANY  TO  SARATOGA. 

{Delaware  &  Hudson  Bailroad.) 

Saratoga  Division. — The  Saratoga  Division  of  the  Dela- 
ware &  Hudson  Railroad  mig-ht  be  said  to  stand  secure  on  a 
solid  tripod,  Albany  representing-  one  foot,  Troy  another,  and 
Schenectady  the  third.  Travelers  by  Day  Boat,  Night  Boat, 
or  the  West  Shore  Railroad,  take  their  departure  for  Saratoga 
from  Albany.  Most  of  the  through  express  trains  on  the  Hud- 
son River  Railroad  go  rtVtTroy.  Passengers  from  Buffalo,  Roch- 
ester, Syracuse,  Utica,  and  the  west,  find  their  nearest  route  via 
Schenectady.  To  carry  the  figure  still  further,  the  three  sup- 
ports of  the  tripod  all  converge  toward  Saratoga,  and  there 
unite  to  support  the  main  standard,  with  Lake  George,  Cham- 
plain  and  the  Adirondack^  for  a  picture  rack. 

Troy. — {New  York  Central  c5  Hudson  River  R.  R.,  Delaware  & 
Hudson,  Fitchhurgh  &  Central  Vermont,  Citizens'  Line  Steamers.) 
To  mark  the  locality  of  Troy  it  is  necessary  to  get  your  bearings. 
If  you  happen  to  be  in  Albany,  you  can  say  Troy  is  six  miles 
north  of  Albany  ;  but,  if  you  chance  to  be  in  Troy,  it  would  be 
safe  to  say  that  Albany  is  six  miles  south  of  Troy.  It  stands  at 
the  head  of  tide-water,  and  is  emphatically  a  live  city.  If  you 
ask  its  history,  it  points  to  its  great  iron  interests,  its  collar, 

243 


244  THE  HUDSON. 

cuff,  and  various  laundry  industries,  and  iike  the  Roman  matron, 
says,  '•  These  are  my  jewels."  Et  is  located  upon  a  flat,  at  the 
foot  of  classically-named  hills,  Mount  Ida  and  Mount  Olympus. 
Two  streams,  the  Poestenkill  and  the  Wynant's  Kill,  approach 
the  river  through  narrow  ravines,  and  furnish  excellent  water 
power.  In  the  year  1786  it  was  called  Ferryhook.  In  1787, 
Rensselaerwyck.  In  the  fall  of  1787  the  settlers  began  to  use 
the  name  of  Vanderheyden,  after  the  family  who  owned  a  great 
part  of  the  ground  where  the  city  now  stands.  January  9,  1789, 
the  freeholders  of  the  town  met  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Troy. 
The  Hudson,  the  Erie,  and  the  Champlain  Canals  have  con- 
tributed to  its  growth.  The  city  population  is  6-:t,98G,  but  the 
surrounding  cities  and  towns,  which  have  sprung  up  around  it, 
viz.,  Cohoes,  Lansingburg,  Waterford,  etc.,  makes  it  central  to 
at  least  100,000  people.  The  Rensselaer  Polytechnic  Institute, 
the  oldest  engineering  school  in  America,  has  a  national  reputa- 
tion. 

The  best  hotel  is  the  Troy  House,  corner  First  and  River 
streets,  centrally  located,  among  the  leading  mercantile  inter- 
ests and  public  buildings  of  the  city,  within  five  minutes'  walk 
from  the  Union  railroad  depot,  or  within  two  minutes'  walk 
of  the  landing  of  the  elegant  steamers  •'  Saratoga  *  and  "  City  of 
Troy."  Being  handy  alike  for  the  tourist  or  man  of  business, 
and  under  the  po])ular  management  of  the  owner  and  })roprietor, 
Mr.  B.  F.  Stiles,  it  furnishes  a  pleasant  resting  place  for  one 
en  route  to  Saratoga  and  the  Adirondacks.  Passing  west  from 
Albany  or  Troy  through  West  Troy,  we  come  to — 

Cohoes,  a  prosperous  manufacturing  city,  which  has  grown 
up  aroimd  one  of  the  finest  water  i)ower3  in  the  country.     The 


THE  HUDSON.  245 

name  Cohoes  is  said  to  signify  "the  island  at  the  falls."  This 
was  the  division  line  between  the  Mahicans  and  the  Mohawks, 
and  when  the  water  is  in  full  force  it  sugg-ests  in  graceful  curve 
and  sweej)  a  miniature  Niagara.  The  view  from  the  double- 
truss  iron  bridge  (960  feet  in  length),  looking  up  or  down  the 
iNlohawk  is  impressive. 

Passing  through  Waterford,  and  Mechanicville,  which  lies 
partly  in  the  township  of  Stillwater,  with  its  historic  records  of 
Bemis  Heights  and  burial  place  of  Ellsworth,  the  first  martyr 
of  the  civil  war,  we  come  to — 

Round  Lake,  nineteen  miles  north  of  Troy,  and  thirteen  miles 
south  of  Saratoga  Springs,  near  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  three 
miles  in  circumference,  called  by  the  Indians  Ta-nen-da-ho-wa, 
which  interpreted,  signifies  Round  Lake. 

The  gateway  at  the  station  seems  to  open  at  once  into  a  fairy 
land,  which,  however,  gives  vigorous  evidence  of  entertaining 
human  beings  in  the  existence  of  a  post-office,  a  grocery  and 
provision  stores,  a  bakery,  meat,  fish,  milk,  and  vegetable  mar- 
kets, also,  telegraph  and  express  offices.  Private  boarding  and 
lodging  may  be  obtained  in  cottages  and  tents  at  very  reasonable 
rates.  We  have  seen  it  stated  that  a  cottage,  including  a  lot, 
can  be  built  at  Round  Lake,  accommodating  several  persons, 
for  $500,  and  pleasant  cottages  can  be  rented  for  $40. 

The  drives  in  the  vicinity  are  most  delightful  to  Saratoga 
Lake,  to  the  Hudson  River,  to  the  historic  battle-fields  of  Bemis 
Heights  and  Stillwater,  The  air  at  Round  Lake  is  pure  and  in- 
vigorating and  the  grounds  are  abundantly  supplied  with  pure, 
cool  water  from  living  springs  upon  the  high  lands  of  the  Asso- 
ciation 


246  THE  HUDSON. 

The  Association  grounds  consist  of  200  acres  of  land,  charm- 
ingly situated,  and  the  institution  is  most  flourishing,  under  its 
able  and  popular  management 

Ballston  Spa,  (thirty-one  miles  from  Albany,  population 
4,000),  is  the  county  seat  of  Saratoga.  Here  are  several  well 
known  mineral  springs,  with  chemical  properties  similar  to  the 
springs  of  Saratoga.  Over  ninety  years  ago  Benjamin  Douglas, 
father  of  Hon.  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  built  a  log  house,  near  the 
"Old  Spring,"  for  the  accommodation  of  invalids  and  travelers, 
and  at  one  time  it  looked  as  if  Saratoga  would  have  a  vigorous 
rival  at  her  very  doors ;  but  its  hotel  glory  has  departed  and 
the  old  "Sans  Souci"  of  the  days  of  Washington  Irving  is  a 
thing  of  the  past.  There  is  a  fine  avenue  between  the  two  vil- 
lages, which  makes  a  popular  driveway,  running,  as  it  does,  near 
the  Geyser,  Vichy  and  Spouting  Springs. 

Saratoga  Springs,  (thirty-eight  miles  north  of  Albany,  one 
hundred  and  eighty-two  miles  from  New  York.  Population 
about  15,000).  We  presume  no  one  will  dispute  us,  when  we  say 
that  this  is  the  greatest  watering  place  of  the  continent,  or  of 
the  world.  Its  development  has  been  wonderful,  and  puts,  as  it 
were,  in  large  italics,  the  prosperity  of  America.  Its  fifty 
years'  growth  is  as  marvelous  as  the  growth  of  New  York,  Chi- 
cago, or  San  Francisco.  The  wooden  inns  and  hotels  of  1830, 
which  then  seemed  palatial  to  the  rural  jieople  of  Saratoga, 
would  get  lost  even  in  the  parlors  of  the  mammoth  hotels  which 
now  line  the  main  street  of  the  village.  Chief  among  these  hotels, 
we  mention  the— 

''United  States,"  a  grand  and  princely  building  of  noble 
frontage  with  a  bright  and  spacious  interior  court.     We  see  it 


THE  HUDSON.  247 

as  we  approach  the  station,  with  its  loug  line  of  cottages  on  one 
side,  and  its  long  wing-  on  the  other,  reaching  almost  to  the  rail- 
road track,  as  if  standing  with  opon  arms  to  welcome  the  tourist 
and  traveler. 

This  magnificent  structure  was  completed  in  June,  1874.  It 
constitutes  one  continuous  line  of  buildings,  six  stories  high,  over 
fifteen  hundred  feet  in  length,  containing  nine  hundred  and 
seventeen  rooms  for  guests,  and  is  the  largest  hotel  in  the  world. 
The  architectural  appearance  is  exceedingly  elegant  and  beau- 
tiful. It  is  Norman  in  style,  and  its  Mansard  roof  is  embellished 
with  pediments,  gables,  dormer  windows  and  crestings,  and 
three  large  pavilions. 

The  building  covers  and  encloses  seven  acres  of  ground  in  the 
form  of  an  irregular  pentagon,  having  a  frontage  of  two  hundred 
and  thirtj'-two  feet  on  Broadway,  six  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet 
on  Division  street,  wath  "  Cottage  Wing  "  on  the  south  side  of 
the  plaza,  extending  west  from  the  main  front  for  five  hundred 
and  sixty-six  feet.  This  wing  is  one  of  the  most  desirable  fea- 
tures of  this  admirably  arranged  house,  as  it  affords  families, 
and  other  parties,  the  same  quiet  and  seclusion  which  a  private 
cottage  would  afford,  together  with  the  attention  and  conveni- 
ence of  a  first-class  hotel.  The  rooms  of  this  wing  are  arranged 
in  suites  of  one  to  seven  bedrooms,  with  parlor  and  bath-room  in 
each  suite.  Private  table  is  afforded,  if  desired,  and  the  seclu- 
sion and  freedom  of  a  private  villa  may  be  enjoyed  here,  to  be 
varied,  at  will,  by  the  gayer  life  of  the  hotel  and  watering  place. 

The  main  front  and  entrance  are  on  Broadway,  in  which  is  the 
elegant  drawing-room,  superbly  furnished  with  Axminster  car- 
pets, carved  walnut  and  marble  furniturer  frescoed  ceilings,  ele- 


248  THE  HUDSON. 

gant  lace  curtains  and  costly  chandeliers  and  mirrors.  The 
room  is  rich  and  tasteful  in  its  entire  arrangements.  Across  the 
hall  is  the  ladies*  parlor,  furnished  with  exquisite  taste;  and 
beyond,  at  the  corner  of  the  Broadway  and  Division  street  fronts, 
are  the  gentlemen's  reading-rooms  and  the  business  offices  of  the 
hotel.  To  the  west  of  the  office,  in  the  Division  street  wing,  is 
the  dining-hall,  fifty-two  by  one  hundred  and  twelve  feet,  with 
twenty  and  one-half  feet  ceiling.  The  grand  ball-room,  one  hun- 
dred and  twelve  by  fifty-three  feet,  with  ceilings  twenty-six  feet 
high,  is  on  the  second  floor  of  the  Division  street  wing,  and  is 
also  handsomely  decorated. 

In  brief,  this  palatial  structure  surpasses  in  grandeur  and 
magnitude,  any  hotel  in  Saratoga.  It  was  not  built  in  pieces 
and  pasted  together  in  scraps,  but  reared  at  once  in  its  entirety, 
springing  up  like  Aladdin's  Palace,  symmetrical  and  beautiful. 
It  is  moreover  appropriately  named,  for  it  is  a  fit  type  of  the 
fifrowth  of  our  country,  and  speaks  well  for  a  centennial  of  pros- 
perity under  the  successful  management  of  Gage  &  Perry, 
proprietors. 

The  American-Adelplii's  bright  and  cheerful  face  is 
also  lighted  up  with  smiles  and  prosperity.  It  has  one  of  the 
finest  locations  in  Saratoga,  and  enters  upon  its  eighteenth  suc- 
cessful season,  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Greo.  A.  Farnham. 
The  rooms  are  entirely  refurnished,  and  300  guests  will  be  sure 
of  comfort,  good  attention,  a  fine  table,  and  every  convenience 
of  a  first-class  house.  One  thing  is  sure,  there  is  no  better  table 
in  Saratoga,  and  those  who  go  to  the  "American^'  return  again 
and  again. 


THE  HUDSON.  249 

Dr.  Strong's  Sanitarium,  established  in  1885,  is  a  very 
popular  and  largely  patronized  house,  on  Circular  street,  one  of 
Saratoga's  beautiful  avenues,  and  within  three  minutes'  walk  of 
the  great  hotels,  Congress  Park,  Hathorn,  Patterson  and  other 
springs.  It  remains  open  throughout  the  year,  and  is  justly  re- 
garded one  of  the  celebrities  of  Saratoga.  To  the  public  it  has 
the  aspect  of  a  family  hotel,  and  for  those  seeking  health  or  rest, 
it  is  a  home  and  sanatarium,  completely  equipped  with  the  most 
modern  curative  appliances,  under  the  management  of  thor- 
oughly educated  physicians.  To  the  feeble  and  overtaxed,  it  ex- 
tends, in  all  seasons,  aid,  and  to  the  pleasure  seekers  abundant 
recreation,  being  just  near  enough  to  all  the  whirl,  and  just  re- 
tired enough  for  rest,  with  the  table  appointments  and  elegance 
of  a  first-class  hotel.  During  the  past  year  this  institution  has 
made  extensive  improvements  and  additions.  It  introduced  a 
beautifully  decorated  reception  hall,  communicating  with  an 
elegant  drawing-room,  and  containing  an  open  fire-place,  modern 
staircase  and  passenger  elevator.  It  has  also  built  a  Sun  Par- 
lor and  Promenade  on  the  roof,  literally  a  glass  house  with  a 
tower,  through  which  the  elevator  runs  and  lands  its  passengers 
in  the  Sun  Parlor.  This  room  is  furnished  with  tables,  easy 
chairs,  magazines,  papers,  plants,  etc.  Out  of  the  Sun  Parlor, 
toward  the  east,  is  an  extensive  promenade  covering  the  main 
roof  of  the  building.  The  power  of  the  sun  beam,  the  invigoration 
of  the  atmosphere  free  from  moisture,  and  the  balmy  breeze, 
make  the  additions  great  agencies  for  health,  elevation  of  spirits 
and  recreation.  One  could  scarcely  imagine  a  more  delightful 
resting  place  after  a  heated  summer  day  than  the  roof  prome- 
nade.   It  has  proved  a  very  attractive  feature  in  the  summer 


250  THE  HUDSON. 

evening's  to  the  young  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  throng  this 
favorite  resort.  During  the  past  year  Dr.  Strong  built  a  large 
annex  to  his  Sanitarium  in  which  he  has  placed  suits  of  rooms 
with  baths,  billiard  rooms,  gymnastic  hall,  and  Turkish  and 
Russian  baths,  which  for  elegance  and  completeness  have  never 
been  excelled.  The  annual  croquet  and  lawn  tennis  tourna- 
ments each  season  are  greatly  enjoyed  by  the  guests  of  the  house. 

The  Mount  McGregor  Bailroad  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  "day 
trips  "  to  be  made  from  Saratoga.  Trains  leave  Saratoga  three 
or  four  times  during  the  day,  and  the  view  from  the  i*oad  and 
the  mountain  is  very  fine.  An  art  gallery  has  been  established 
on  this  mountain,  and  a  collection  of  pictures  by  American 
artists  is  on  exhibition.  The  Electric  Line  to  Saratoga  Lake  is 
also  one  of  the  features  of  the  village,  and  furnishes  a  most  de- 
lightful forenoon  or  afternoon's  outing. 

Tlie  Springs. — The  most  prominent  springs  in  and  about 
Saratoga  are  the  Hathorn,  the  Vichy,  the  Patterson  and  the 
Congress.  The  popularity  of  the  Hathorn  is  attested  by  the 
universal  sale  of  its  bottled  waters  throughout  the  United  States. 
The  Vichy  is  also  a  great  favorite,  and  the  Patterson  is  rapidly 
winning  a  reputation  which  its  excellence  deserves. 

But  in  the  midst  of  this  throbbing,  gay  and  delightful  Sara- 
toga, we  must  not  forget  that  it  was  here  the  fathers  of  the  Re- 
public achieved  one  of  their  most  decisive  victories.  The  battle 
was  fought  in  the  town  of  Stillwater,  at  Bemis  Heights,  two  and 
a  half  miles  from  the  Hudson.  The  defeat  of  St.  Leger  and  the 
triumph  of  Stark  at  Bennington  filled  the  American  army  with 
hope.  Burgoyne's  army  advanced  September  19th,  1777.  The 
battle  was  sharply  contested.     At  night  the  Americans  retired 


THE  HUDSON.  251 

into  their  camp,  and  the  British  held  the  field.  From  Septem- 
ber 20th  to  October  7th  the  armies  looked  each  other  in  the  face, 
each  side  satisfied  from  the  fi  est  day's  strug-gle  that  their  oppo- 
nents were  worthy  foemen.  '  The  Americans  had  retaken  Ticon- 
derog"a  and  Lake  George.  Burgoyne  had  no  place  to  retreat, 
and  the  lines  were  slowly  but  surely  closing  in  around  him. 
October  7th  Burgoyne  commenced  the  battle,  but  in  half  an 
hour  his  line  was  broken.  He  attempted  to  rally  his  troops  in 
person,  but  they  could  not  stand  before  the  impetuous  charge  of 
the  Americans.  He  was  compelled  to  order  a  full  retreat,  and 
fell  back  on  the  heights  above  Schuylerville.  The  Americans 
surrounded  him,  and  he  surrendered.  It  was  a  decisive  victory, 
and  cheered  the  friends  of  freedom,  not  only  in  America,  but  in 
the  English  House  of  Commons.  Those  desirous  of  going  a  few 
centuries  further  back  in  history  will  find  their  taste  fully  grati- 
fied at  elegant  Pompeii  on  the  main  street  of  the  village — a  re- 
production of  the  "  House  of  Pansa,"  buried  by  Vesuvius,  A.  D. 
79.  It  is  a  most  complete  and  vivid  portrayal  of  the  domestic 
life,  worship  and  customs  of  the  Romans. 

In  Nathaniel  Bartlett  Sylvester's  book,  entitled  "  Historical 
Sketches  of  Northern  New  York  and  the  Adirondack  Wilder- 
ness," the  tourist  will  find  a  large  and  well  digested  mass  of  in- 
formation relative  to  Saratoga  and  the  Adirondack  Wilderness. 
In  the  2.'W  Cha])ter  we  learn  that  the  earliest  date  in  which  the 
word  Saratoga  appears  in  history  is  1684,  and  was  then  the  name 
of  an  old  hunting  ground  on  both  sides  of  the  Hudson.  Its  in- 
terpretations have  been  various.  Some  say  "  The  Hillside  Coun- 
try of  the  Great  River  ;"  others,  the  place  of  swift  waters,  while 
Morgan,  in  his  "  League  of  the  Iroquois,"  says  the  signification 


252  THE  HUDSON. 

of  Saratoga  is  lost.  It  has  occurred  to  the  writer  of  this  Hand, 
book  that  the  old  root  of  the  word  meaning  "brackish,"  or 
"bitter,"  appears  also  in  the  English,  "sour,"  in  the  Swedish. 
"  sur,"  and  in  German,  "sauer  ;"  being  kindred  with  Sam,  or  salt 
water.  The  word  "daga"  signifies  water  as  seen  in  Sacan- 
daga,  Onondaga,  &c.,  and  Saradoga  would  easily  become  Sara- 
toga. 

To  quote  from  the  superb  Guide  Book  issued  by  the  Delaware 
and  Hudson  Canal  Company  :  "Long  before  the  discovery  of 
Saratoga's  wonderful  springs  by  the  whites,  the  place  was 
the  resort  of  the  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Senecas  and 
Cayugas,  who  came  thither  for  the  health-giving  properties  of 
the  waters.  The  first  white  man  to  visit  the  place  was  Sir 
William  Johnson,  who,  in  1767,  was  conveyed  there  by  his  Mo- 
hawk friends,  in  the  hope  that  the  waters  might  afford  relief 
from  the  serious  effects  of  a  gunshot  wound  in  the  thigh,  re- 
ceived eight  years  before  in  the  battle  of  Lake  George,  at  which 
time  his  army  defeated  the  French  legions  under  Baron  Dieskau. 
It  was  not  until  the  year  1773,  six  years  after  Sir  Wm.  Johnson's 
initial  visit,  that  the  first  clearing  was  made  and  the  first  cabin 
erected  by  Derick  Scowten.  Owing,  however,  to  his  misunder- 
standings with  his  red  neighbors,  he  shortly  afterwards  left.  A 
year  later,  George  Arnold,  from  Rhode  Island,  took  possession 
of  the  vacated  Scowten  House,  and  conducted  it  with  some  de- 
gree of  success  for  about  two  years.  Arnold  was  in  turn  fol- 
lowed by  Samuel  Norton,  who  failed  to  make  the  venture  sui'- 
cessful,  owing  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution.  Norton  was 
succeeded  in  1783  by  his  son,  who  sold  out  in  1787  to  Gideon 
Morgan,  who,  in  the  same  year,  made  the  property  over  to  Alex- 


THE  HUDSON.  253 

ander  Bryan.  Bryan  became  the  first  permanent  settler  after 
the  close  of  the  war.  The  prosperity  of  the  villao-e  beo^an  i'n 
1789,  with  the  advent  of  Gideon  Putnam,  and  has  continued  al- 
most uninterruptedly,  until  to-day  it  has  a  resident  population 
of  1.3,000  and  a  summer  population  of  sometimes  60,000,  and 
offers  more  attractions  than  any  watering-place  in  the  world. 

Saratoga  is  also  the  most  attractive  point  in  the  country  as  a 
gathering  place  for  conventions  and  large  meetings,  and,  m  re- 
sponse to  the  growing  demand  for  adequate  facilities,  a  splendid 
convention  hall,  with  a  seating  capacity  for  five  thousand  people, 
has  recently  been  erected  by  the  town  authorities.  It  is  a  strik- 
ing architectural  addition  to  Saratoga's  attractions.'' 


2M  THE  HUDSON. 

FROM  SARATOGA  TO  THE  ADIRONDACKS. 

Adirondack  Railway  to  Xorih  Creek — Stages  to  Blue  ^fountain  Lake. 

The  Adirondack  Railimy  furnishes  one  of  the  pleasantest  ex- 
cursions to  be  made  from  Saratoga.  The  traveler  passes  through 
the  romantic  and  picturesque  valley  of  the  Upper  Hudson — 
through  King's,  South  Corinth,  Jessup's  Landing  to  Hadley, 
(the  railroad  station  for  Luzerne,  a  charming  village  at  the 
junction  of  the  Hudson  and  the  Sacandaga) ;  then  through 
Stony  Creek,  Thurman,  thirty-six  miles  from  Saratoga  Springs, 
at  the  junction  of  the  Schroon  and  the  Hudson;  the  Glen, 
forty-four  miles ;  Riverside,  fifty  miles,  (for  Schroon  Lake), 
pleasurable  throughout,  to  North  Creek,  where  "Concord 
coaches "  and  patent-covered  spring  buckboards  are  in  wait- 
ing for  Blue  Mountain  Lake — distance  about  thirty  miles, 
through  a  beautiful  romantic  country.  The  road  is  in  thorough 
repair,  and  the  traveler  will  reach  Blue  Mountain  Lake  in  time 
for  supper.  We  had  the  good  fortune  to  make  this  trip  last 
August,  and  hope  to  do  so  at  least  once  a  year  for  the  next  de- 
cade. Blue  Mountain  Lake  is  a  noble  threshold  of  the  Adiron- 
dacks,  and  furnishes  a  delightful  route  to  the  lake  district.  The 
stage  line  has  two  or  three  relays  of  horses,  makes  frequent 
changes,  and  the  "drivers"  swing  one  along  like  a  California 
"Jehu"  of  the  Yosemite. 

The  "Prospect"  accommodates  S-IO  ])eoplo,  and  is  in  every 
particular  a  first-class  hotel. 

The  water  route  from  this  point  is  as  follows :  Through  Blue 
Mountain  Lake  and  Utowana  Lake  to  the  outlet,  a  distance  of 


THE  HUDSON.  255 

seven  miles.  A  "carry"'  about  two-thirds  of  a  mile  in  length 
brings  the  traveler  to  a  fairj'-like  steamer  on  Marion  River.  The 
river  trip  is  twelve  miles  long  to  Forked  Lake,  and  we  remem- 
ber that  it  abounded  with  ''  water  lilies,"  which  were  gathered 
by  heroic  voyagers  for  fair  ones  in  their  charge. 

The  Raquette  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  of  the  "braided 
lakes.-'  It  has  ninety  miles  of  coast,  and  we  understand  that  the 
name  signifies  "  star-like."  The  name  Utowana  signifies  "  Lake 
of  Plenty." 

Arriving  at  "Forked  Lake  Carry,"  one-half  mile  takes  us  to 
Fletcher's,  or  Forked  Lake.  This  is  really  the  first  "hotel  in 
the  woods,"  and  here  the  traveler  gets  his  first  real  mountain 
bill  of  fare.  From  this  point  we  took  a  guide  to  Long  Lake. 
The  Sagamore  accommodates  about  200  guests.  There  is  a  short 
cut  from  this  point  over  to  the  Tupper  Lakes,  which  we  can 
commend  in  every  particular,  and  the  tourist  can  either  return 
to  Long  Lake  and  continue  his  route  to  the  Saranacs,  or  go  to 
the  Saranacs  direct  from  Lake  Tupper.  From  the  Saranacs 
there  is  a  stage  to  Lake  Placid. 

From  this  point  we  went  to  Keene  Flats,  and  stopped  with 
"  Beede."  Some  six  or  eight  years  ago  we  visited  Beede,  on  our 
way  from  Plattsburgh  to  Mount  Marcy,  and  we  were  delighted 
to  see  that  he  had  outgrown  the  quiet  farm-house,  and  now  finds 
himself  proprietor  of  one  of  the  best  conducted  hotels  of  the 
Adirondacks,  accommodating  100  people.  It  is  a  charming  and 
healthful  spot,  and  only  five  miles  from  the  "Lower  Ausable 
Pond."  These  ponds,  the  "Lower"  and  "Upper,"  are  unri- 
valed in  beauty  and  grandeur.  They  lie  at  the  foot  of  Mount 
Mavcy,  Haystack,  the  Gothics,  and  Mount  Bartlett. 


256  THE   HUDSON 


FROM  SARATOGA  TO  LAKE  GEORGE. 

The  traveler  will  find  trains  and  excursions  to  suit  his  conven- 
ience from  Saratoga  to  America's  fairest  lake.  His  route  takes 
him  through  Gansevoort  and  Fort  Edward  to  Glens  Falls.  About 
one  mile  from  Fort  Edward  station  stood,  until  recently,  the  tree 
where  Jane  McCrea  was  murdered  by  Indians  during-  the  Revo- 
lution. From  Glens  Falls  the  tourist  proceeds  over  the  well- 
conducted  Lake  George  Division  of  the  Mensselaer  d-  Saratoga 
B.  i?.,  and  soon  finds  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  historic  and  ro- 
mantic region.  About  half  way  to  the  lake  stands  a  monument 
to  Col.  Ephraim  Williams,  killed  at  the  battle  of  Lake  George 
in  1755,  and  erected  by  the  graduates  of  Williams  College, 
which  he  founded.  Bloody  Pond,  a  little  further  on,  sleeps  calm 
and  blue  in  the  sunlight  in  spite  of  its  tragic  name  and  associa- 
tions, and  soon  Lake  George,  girt-round  by  mountains,  greets 
our  vision,  stretching  away  in  beauty  to  the  north. 

Tlie  Trosadis  of  America.  Capt.  Wm.  R.  Lord,  author  of  "Rem- 
iniscences of  a  Sailor,'-  in  a  recent  article  contributed  to  a  Scot- 
tish paper,  has  happily  christened  Lake  George  and  its  surround- 
ings "  The  Trosachs  of  America."  In  writing  of  the  Autumn 
season  he  says :  "Its  similarity  to  the  Trosachs  of  Scotland  im- 
presses one  most  vividly  as  seen  at  this  season ;  the  mountains 
are  clothed  in  a  garb,  the  prevailing  color  of  which  is  purple, 
reminding  me  of  a  previous  visit  through  the  Scottish  Highlands 
when  the  heather  was  in  full  bloom.  I  at  that  time  felt  it  to  be 
impossible  that  any  other  place  on  the  face  of  the  globe  could 
equal  the  magnificently  imposing  grandeur  of  the  '  Trosachs.' 


THE  HUDSON.  257 

I  must,  however,  freely  admit  that  in  its  power  of  chang-ing- 
beauty  this  reg-ion  of  America  fully  equals,  if  it  does  not  sur- 
pass it.  Deeds  of  'derring-do,'  enacted  in  these  mountain 
fastnesses  in  days  g-one  by,  still  add  to  make  the  comparison 
more  close.  Our  path  at  times  seemed  to  be  literally  strewn 
with  roses,  for  the  different  colored  leaves  that  carpeted  our 
way  conveyed  that  thought.  The  depth  and  variegated  beauty 
of  coloring  that  marks  this  season  of  decaying-  foliage,  would 
enrapture  the  heart  of  an  artist.  In  my  vocation  I  have  had 
occasion  to  visit  the  four  quarters  of  the  g-lobe,  but  never  have 
I  seen  tints  so  striking-ly  beautiful." 

Lake  Georg-e,  called  by  the  French  "  Lac  St.  Sacrament,"  was 
discovered  by  Father  Jacques,  who  passed  through  it  in  1646,  on 
his  way  to  the  Iroquois,  by  whom  he  was  afterward  tortured  and 
burned.  It  is  thirty-six  miles  long  by  three  miles  broad.  Its 
elevation  is  two  hundred  and  forty-three  feet  above  the  sea. 
The  waters  are  of  remarkable  transparency  ;  romantic  islands 
dot  its  surface,  and  eleg-ant  villas  line  its  shores.  Fort  William 
Henry  and  Ticonderoga,  situated  at  either  end  of  the  lake,  were 
the  salients  respectively  of  the  two  most  powerful  nations  upon 
the  globe.  France  and  Eng-land  sent  great  armies,  which 
crossed  each  other's  track  upon  the  ocean,  the  one  entering 
the  St.  Lawrence,  the  other  the  harbor  of  New  York.  Their 
respective  colonies  sent  their  thousands  to  swell  the  number  of 
trained  troops,  while  tribes  of  red  men  from  the  south  and  the 
north  were  marshalled  by  civilized  genius  to  meet  in  hostile 
array  upon  these  waters,  around  the  walls  of  the  forts,  and  at 
the  base  of  the  hills.  In  175"),  General  Johnston  reached  Lake 
St.  Sacrament,  to   which   he   g-ave  the  name  of  Lake  George, 


258  THE  HCTDSON. 

"not  only  in  honor  of  his  MajeMy,  but  to  assert  his  undoubted 
dominion  here."' 

The  village  of  Caldwell  is  pleasantly  situated  at  the  head  of 
the  lake.  It  contains  two  churches,  a  court  house,  and  a  num- 
ber of  pretty  residences.  Just  behind  the  court  house  is  the  baj- 
where  Montcalm  landed  his  cannon,  and  where  his  entrench- 
ments began.  It  ran  across  the  street,  near  Brown's  Hotel,  to 
the  rising  ground  beyond  the  Episcopal  Church. 

Fort  William  Henry  Hotel  is  the  lar^-est  and  best  ap- 
pointed hotel  on  Lake  George.  It  has  a  most  beautiful  and  com- 
manding location,  and  the  view  from  its  great  piazza  is  one  long 
to  be  remembered.  This  piazza  is  twenty-four  feet  in  width  and 
supported  by  a  row  of  Corinthian  columns  thirty  feet  high.  The 
outlook  from  it  at  all  times  is  little  less  than  enchanting,  com- 
manding as  it  does  the  level  reaches  of  the  lake  for  miles,  with 
a  number  of  the  most  picturesque  islands  and  promontories. 

About  twelve  miles  from  the  hotel  is  Fourteen-mile  Island 
which,  with  a  number  of  others,  form  "  The  Narrows."  The 
lake  here  is  400  feet  deep,  much  fishing  is  done,  and  in  the  right 
season  hunting  parties  start  out.  Black  Mountain,  the  monarch 
of  the  lake,  rises  over  two  thousand  feet  above  its  waters  (being 
2,6G1  feet  above  tide),  and  from  the  summit  a  magnificent  view 
may  be  obtained  of  Lake  Champlain,  the  Green  Moimtains,  the 
Adirondacks,  and  the  distant  course  of  the  Hudson. 

Those  who  have  only  a  day  can  make  a  delightful  excursion  from 
Saratoga  to  Caldwell  by  rail,  then  through  the  Lake  to  Baldwin, 
and  thence  by  rail  to  Saratoga,  or  via  Baldwin  and  up  the  lake 
to  Caldwell,  and  so  to  Saratoga.  But,  to  get  the  full  beauty  of 
this  unrivaled  lake,  the  trip  should  be  made  with  less  haste,  for 


THE  HUDSON.  261 

there  is  no  more  delightful  place  in  the  world  to  spend  a  week,  a 
month,  or  an  entire  summer.  Lake  George  and  its  immediate 
surroundings  present  much  to  interest  the  student  of  history  and 
legend ;  and  to  lovers  of  the  beautiful  it  acknowledges  no  rivals. 
The  elevation  and  absolute  purity  of  air  make  it  a  desirable  place 
for  the  tourist.  It  is  346  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  247  feet 
above  lake  Champlain,  and  is  now  brought  within  six  hours  of 
New  York  by  the  enterprise  of  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Canal 
Co,  It  is  a  great  question,  and  we  talk  it  over  every  time  we  see 
the  genial  General  Passenger  Agent  of  this  enterprising  line, 
whether  Lake  George  or  Lake  Luzerne,  in  Switzerland,  is  the 
more  beautiful.  We  were  just  deciding  last  summer,  on  the 
Steamer  "Horicon,"  that  Lake  George  was  more  beautiful,  but 
not  so  wild,  when,  as  if  the  spirit  of  the  lake  were  roused,  a  great 
black  squall  suddenly  came  over  the  mountains,  and,  the  crys- 
tal Horicon  for  a  few  minutes,  was  as  wild  and  grand  as  any  one 
might  desire.  We  all  were  glad  to  see  her  smile  again  as  she  did 
half  an  hour  afterward  in  the  bright  sunlight. 

"  At  its  widest  point  Lake  George  measures  about  four  miles, 
but  at  other  places  it  is  less  than  one  mile  in  width.  It  is  dotted 
with  islands  ;  how  many  we  do  not  know  exactly — nobody  does ; 
but  tradition,  which  passes  among  the  people  of  the  district  for 
history  and  truth,  says  there  are  exactly  one  island  for  every 
day  in  the  year,  or  365  in  all.  Whatever  their  real  number  they 
all  are  beautiful,  although  some  of  them  are  barely  large  enough 
to  support  a  flagstaff,  for  they  all  seem  to  fit  into  the  scene  so 
thoroughly  that  each  one  seems  necessary  to  complete  the  charm. 
On  either  side  are  high  hills,  in  some  places  rising  gently  from 
the  shores,  and  in  others  beetling  up  from  the  surface  of  the 


262 


THE  HUDSON. 


water  with  a  rugg-ed  cliff,  or  time-worn  mass  of  rocks,  which 
reminds  one  of  the  wild  bits  of  rocky  scenery  that  make  up  the 
savage  beauty  of  the  Isle  of  Skye. 

Its  clearness  is  something  extraordinary.  From  a  small  boat, 
in  many  places,  the  bottom  can  be  seen,  and  in  others  one  can 
gaze  so  far  down  into  its  depths  that  it  is  impossible  to  believe 
that  the  bottom  is  much  farther  down.  Indeed,  so  mysteriously 
beautiful  is  the  water  that  many  visitors  spend  a  day  in  a  row- 
boat  gazing  into  it  at  different  points." 


1^ 


k:-: 


*:<^^ 


%'.^r 


\?  ^T^' 


AFLOAT. 


Charles  Dudley  Warner  says:  "  Bolton,  among  a  host  of  at- 
tractive spots  on  the  lake,  holds,  in  my  opinion,  a  rank  among 
the  two  or  three  most  interesting  points.  There  is  no  point  of 
Lake  George  where  the  views  are  so  varied  or  more  satisfactory, 
excepting  the  one  from  Sabbath-daj^  Point.  At  Bolton  the  islets 
which  dot  the  surface  of  the  lake  whose  waters  are  blue  as  the 
sea  in  the  tropics,  carry  the  eye  to  the  rosy-tinted  range  whieb 


THE  HUDSON.  263 

includes  Pilot,  Buck,  and  Erebus  Mountains,  and  culminates  in 
the  stateliness  of  Black  Mountain.  Or,  looking-  northwest,  the 
sujierb  masses  of  verdure  on  Green  Island  are  seen  mirrored  on 
the  burnished  surface  of  the  lake.  Behind  rises  the  mighty  di- 
viding wall  called  Tongue  Mountain,  which  seems  to  separate 
the  lake  in  twain,  for  Ganouskie,  or  Northwest  Bay,  five  miles 
long,  is  in  effect  a  lake  by  itself,  with  its  own  peculiar  features." 
The  Champlain  Transportation  Company  runs  a  regular  line  of 
steamboats  the  entire  length  of  the  lake,  making  three  round 
trips  daily,  except  Sunday.  The  Horicon  is  a  fine  side-wheel 
steamer,  203  feet  long  and  52  feet  wide,  and  will  accommodate, 
comfortably,  1,000  people. 

At  Fort  Ti  the  tourist  can  continue  his  northern  route  via  the 
Delaware  &  Hudson  to  Hotel  Champlain,  Plattsburgh,  Rouse's 
Point,  or  Montreal,  or  thi-ough  Lake  Champlain  by  steamer. 
The  ruins  of  Fort  Ti,  like  old  Fort  Putnam  at  West  Point,  are 
picturesque,  and  will  well  repay  a  visit. 


264  THE  HUDSON. 


LAKE  GEORGE  TO  THE  ADIRONDACKS. 

The  reader  who  does  not  visit  Lake  George  may  feel  that  he 
is  switched  off  on  a  side-track  at  Fort  Edward ;  so,  comint?  to 
his  rescue,  we  return  again,  and  renew  our  northern  journey  via 
the  main  line,  through  Dunham's  Basin,  Smith's  Basin,  Fort 
Ann,  and  Comstock's  Landing-,  to — 

IVliiteliall,  a  village  of  six  or  seven  thousand  inhabitants, 
with  a  romantic  situation  at  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain.  This 
village  is  the  centre  of  a  large  lumber  trade,  and  has  a  location 
quite  like  an  infant  Chicago. 

From  this  point  north  the  Delaware  &  Hudsmi  crosses  all  the 
thresholds  for  the  Adirondacks,  and  shortens  the  journey  to  the 
mountain  districts.  It  passes  through  five  mountain  ranges, 
the  most  southerly,  the  Black  Mountain  range,  terminating  in 
Mt.  Defiance,  with  scattering  spurs  coming  down  to  the  very 
shore  of  the  lake.  The  second  range  is  known  as  the  Kayade- 
rosseras,  the  terminations  of  which  lie  along  the  shore  north  of 
Ticonderoga,  culminating  in  Bulwagga  Mountain.  The  third 
range  passes  through  the  western  part  of  Schroon,  the  northern 
part  of  Moriah  and  centre  of  Westport,  ending  in  Split  Rock 
Mountain.  The  fourth  range,  the  Bouquet  range,  ends  in  high 
bluffs  on  Willsboro  Bay.  Here  the  famous  Red-Rock  Cut  is  lo- 
cated, and  the  longest  tunnel  on  the  line. 

The  fifth  range,  once  known  as  the  Adirondack  Range,  as  it 
includes  the  most  lofty  of  the  Adirondack  Mountains,  viz.:  Mc- 
Intyre,  Colden  and  Tahawas,  ends  in  a  rocky  promontory  known 
as  Tremblau  Point,  at  l*()i"t  Kent. 


THE  HUDSON.  265 

No  wonder,  with  these  mountain  ranges  to  get  through,  that 
the  subject  was  agitated  year  after  year,  and  it  was  only  when 
the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Company  put  their  strong 
shoulder  to  the  wheel,  that  the  work  began  to  go  forward.  For 
these  mountains  meant  tunnels,  and  rock  cuts,  and  bridges,  and 
cash.  Leaving  Whitehall,  we  pass  through  a  tunnel  near  the 
old  steamboat  landing,  cross  a  marsh,  which  must  have  suggested 
the  beginning  of  the  Pilgrim's  Progress,  for  it  seemed  almost 
bottomless,  and  are  wheeled  along  the  narrow  end  of  the  lake, 
still  marked  by  light-houses,  where  steamers  once  struggled  and 
panted  "like  fish  out  of  water,"'  fulfilling  the  Yankee's  ambition 
of  running  on  a  heavy  dew.  Then  winding  in  and  out  along  the 
shore,  we  proceed  to — 

Ticonderoga,  23  miles  from  Whitehall.  Here  terminates 
the  first  range  of  the  Adirondacks,  to  which  we  have  already 
referred,  viz.  :  Mount  Defiance.  Steamers  connect  with  the 
train  at  this  point  on  Lake  Champlain,  also  with  a  railroad  for 
Lake  George.  Near  the  station  we  get  a  view  of  old  Fort  Ti- 
conderoga,  where  Ethan  Allen  breakfasted  early  one  morning, 
and  said  grace  in  a  brief  and  emphatic  manner.  The  lake  now 
widens  into  a  noble  sheet  of  water ;  we  cross  the  Lake  George 
outlet,  enter  a  deep  rock-cut,  which  extends  to  a  distance  of 
about  500  feet,  and  reach  Crown  Point  thirty-four  miles  north  of 
Whitehall,  with  its  blast  furnaces  and  branch  railroad  to  Ham- 
mondville  mines,  some  thirteen  miles  in  length,  up  the  valley  of 
Put  Creek.  Passing  along  the  shore  of  Bulwagga  Bay,  we 
come  to — 

Port  Henry,  forty  miles  from  Whitehall,  where  there  are 
more  blast  furnaces  and  another  private  railroad,  seven  miles 


266  THE  HUDSON. 

long,  to  Mineville,  when  we  pass  through  another  cut  and  a 
tunnel  some  300  feet  in  length.  A  few  miles  above  this  the  rail- 
road leaves  the  lake  at  Mullen  Brook,  the  first  departure  since 
we  left  Whitehall,  and  we  are  greeted  with  cultivated  fields  and 
a  charming  landscape. 

Westport,  fifty-one  miles  from  Whitehall,  is  the  railroad 
station  for^ 

ElizabettLtown,  the  county  seat  of  Essex.  It  is  about  eight 
miles  distant  from  the  station,  and  we  know  of  no  pleasanter 
village  nestled  among  the  mountains.  A  county  consisting 
mostly  of  mountain  scenery  could  have  no  happier  location  for  a 
head-centre,  Elizabeth  town  forms  a  most  delightful  gate- 
way to  the  Adirondacks  either  by  stage  route  or  pedestrian 
tour. 

A  short  distance  north  of  Westport  we  enter  the  well-culti- 
vated Bouquet  Valley,  and  after  a  pleasant  run  we  come  to 
Wellsboro  Falls,  where  we  enter  seven  miles  of  rock  cutting. 
The  road  is  about  90  feet  above  the  lake,  and  the  cuts  in  many 
places  from  90  to  100  feet  high.  After  leaving  Red-Rock  cut, 
we  pass  through  a  tunnel  600  feet  long.  Crossing  Higby's 
Gorge  and  rounding  Tremblau  Mountain,  we  reach — 

Port  Kent,  to  which  Keeseville,  an  interesting  village,  con- 
nects itself  by  a  well-managed  stage  line.  There  is  a  good  deal 
of  progressive  life  about  this  pleasant  town  of  4,000  inhabitants. 
The  scenery  is  charming  and  romantic  on  every  side. 

Ausable  Chasm,  is  only  three  miles  from  the  station  of 
Port  Kent.  It  is  fully  ten  years  since  we  visited  the  Chasm, 
but  its  pictures  are  still  stamped  upon  our  mind  clearly  and 
definitely— the  ledge  at  Birmingham  Falls,  the  Flume,  the  Devil's 


BOAT  RIDE,  AUSABLE  CHASM 


THE  HUDSON.  269 

Pulpit,  and  the  boat  ride  on  the  swift  current.  Indeed,  the  entire 
rock-rift,  almost  two  miles  in  length,  left  an  impression  never 
to  be  effaced.  The  one  thing  especially  peculiar,  on  account  of 
the  trend  of  the  rock-layers  was  the  illusion  that  we  were  float- 
ing- up  stream,  and  that  the  river  compressed  in  these  narrow 
limits,  had  "got  tired"  of  finding  its  way  out,  until  it  thought 
that  the  easiest  way  was  to  run  up  hill  and  get  out  at  the  top. 

Blu£f  Point.  After  all  this  absence  the  new  and  superb 
"Hotel  Champlain "  seemed  indeed  a  vision  of  beauty.  The 
bluff  is  about  200  feet  above  the  lake  and  the  view  from  the 
hotel  piazza  is  far  reaching  and  impressive,  with  the  Green 
Mountains  on  the  east  and  the  Adirondacks  on  the  west.  The 
hotel  grounds  comprise  the  same  number  of  acres  as  the  islands 
of  Lake  George,  365.  The  hotel  is  400  feet  long.  We  condense 
the  following  description  from  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal 
Guide-book,  which  we  can  heartily  endorse  from  personal  visit : 

"The  western  shore  of  Lake  Champlain  forms  the  margin  of 
the  most  varied  and  altogether  delightful  wilderness  to  be  found 
anywhere  upon  this  continent  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
The  serried  peaks  to  the  westward  are  in  plain  view  from  its 
shores,  their  foot-hills  ending  in  lofty  and  often  abrupt  ridges 
where  they  meet  the  lake.  Three  impetuous  rivers,  the  Sara- 
nac,  the  Salmon  and  the  Ausable,  flow  down  from  the  cool,  clear 
lakes,  hidden  away  in  the  wildwood,  and,  breaking  through  this 
barrier  at  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Plattsburgh,  contribute  not 
only  to  the  lucid  waters  of  Lake  Champlain  but  greatly  to  the 
picturesque  variety  of  the  region. 

Upon  Bluff  Point,  one  of  the  most  commanding  promontories 
of  this  ridge,  separating  the  valley  of  the  Salmon  River  from  the 


270  THE  HUDSON. 

lake,  and  three  miles  south  of  Plattsburgh,  the  large  and  costly 
Hotel  Champlain  forms  the  most  commanding-  feature  in  an  un- 
rivaled landscape,  challenging  the  admiration  of  travelers  both 
by  rail  and  steamer. 

Resolute  has  been  the  struggle  here  with  nature,  where  rocks, 
tangled  forest  and  matted  roots  crowned  the  chosen  spot ;  but 
upon  the  broad,  smooth  plateau  finally  created  the  Hotel  Cham- 
plain  has  been  placed,  and  all  the  surrounding  forest,  its  soli- 
tudes still  untamed,  has  been  converted  into  a  superb  park, 
threaded  with  drives  and  bridle  paths.  At  the  foot  of  the  grad- 
ual western  slope  of  the  ridge  the  handsome  station  of  Bluff 
Point  has  been  located  beside  the  main  line  of  the  Dclmvare  & 
Huthon  Railroad,  the  chief  highway  of  pleasure  and  commercial 
travel  between  New  York,  Saratoga,  Lake  George,  the  Adiron- 
dacks  and  Canada. 

From  the  station  where  the  coaches  of  the  hotel  await  ex- 
pected guests,  a  winding  pike,  the  very  perfection  of  a  road, 
leads  up  the  hill.  From  the  carriage,  as  it  rises  to  the  crest,  a 
wondrous  outlook  to  the  westward  is  opened  to  view.  Nearly  a 
thousand  square  miles  of  valley,  lake  and  mountain  are  within 
range  of  the  eye  or  included  in  the  area  encircled  by  visible 
peaks.  As  the  porch  of  the  hotel  is  reached,  the  view,  enhanced 
by  the  fine  foreground,  is  indeed  beautiful,  but  still  finer  is  the 
grandeur  of  the  scene  from  the  arches  of  the  tall  central  dome  of 
the  house. 

To  the  southward  we  see  Whiteface,  showing,  late  in  spring 
and  early  in  autumn,  its  coronet  of  almost  perpetual  snow  ;  and 
in  a  grand  circle  still  more  southward  we  see  in  succession  Mc- 
Intyre,  Marcy  (both  over  5,000  feet  high),  Haystack,  Dix,  the 


THE  HUDSON.  271 

Gothic  peaks,  Hurricane  and  the  Giant.  This  noble  sisterhood 
of  mountains  rises  from  the  very  heart  of  the  wilderness,  and  yet 
the  guests  at  the  Hotel  Champlain  may  reach  any  portion  of 
their  environment  "within  a  few  hours. 

The  interior  arrangement  of  the  hotel,  both  in  convenience 
and  luxurious  furnishing,  fully  bears  out  the  fair  promise  of  the 
tasteful  white  and  gray  exterior.  There  is  not  a  room  in  the 
house  which  fails  to  command,  from  its  windows,  a  view  grand 
and  far-reaching  in  its  scope. 

Life  at  the  Hotel  Champlain  involves  a  most  extraordinary 
variety  of  diversions.  Equestrian  expeditions  are  possible  in 
various  directions.  Pedestrian  wanderings  are  likely  to  be  pop- 
ular. Frequent  steamboats  upon  the  lake  and  local  trains  upon 
the  railroad  offer  a  long  list  of  single-day  excursions,  each  enjoy- 
able in  its  turn.  Much  of  the  best  fishing  and  hunting  territory 
of  the  Adirondack  region  may  be  reached  in  time  to  enjoy  a 
good  day's  sport  and  return  at  night-fall.  Lake  Placid,  the 
most  widely  known  resort  in  the  Adirondack  Mountains,  is 
peculiarly  accessible  from  Bluff  Point. 

The  fine  equipment  and  frequent  train  service  of  the  Dela- 
ware &  Hudson  between  New  York  and  Bluff  Point  without 
change,  by  daylight  or  at  night,  and  the  direct  connection  of 
the  same  line  with  the  Hudson  River  steamboats,  places  this 
resort  high  upon  the  list  of  available  summering  points  in  the 
dry  and  healthful  north  for  families  from  the  metropolis.  Travel 
from  the  west,  coming  down  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  or  through 
Canada  via  Montreal,  will  find  Bluff  Point  easy  to  reach  ;  while 
from  the  White  Mountains  and  New  England  seashore-resorts 
it  is  accessible  by  through  trains  via  St.  Albans  or  Burlington. 


272  THE  HUDSON. 

Under  the  manag^ement  of  Mr.  O.  D.  Seavey,  the  executive 
head  of  the  princely  Hotel  Ponce  de  Leon,  at  St.  Augustine,  the 
new  Hotel  Champlain  has  promptly  taken  its  place  as  one  of 
the  essential  points  in  the  complete  northern  tour." 

It  is  also  the  station  for  the  Catholic  Summer  School  of  Amer- 
ica. This  institution  has  acquired  several  hundred  acres  of  land 
fronting-  on  Lake  Champlain  and  adjoining  the  Hotel  Champlain 
g-rounds  on  the  north.  The  movement  is  international  in  scope, 
and  this  will  be  the  central  point  of  the  Catholic  reading  circles 
and  for  the  dissemination  of  literature  after  the  Chautauqua 
plan,  and  for  universitv  extension  teaching  among  the  Catholics 
of  America.  Several  hundred  thousands  of  dollars  will  be  ex- 
pended in  improving-  the  grounds,  erecting  suitable  buildings 
and  making  this  charming  region  a  summer'  gathering  place  for 
Catholics  from  all  quarters  of  America.  In  addition  to  the  plans 
of  the  association  to  establish  a  great  center  of  learning  and  a 
permanent  summer  pleasure  resort  on  a  vast  scale,  it  may  be 
found  available  in  this  healthful  and  lovely  spot  to  provide  a 
summer  retreat  for  the  various  uncloistered  orders  of  the  Church. 

The  lectures  and  courses  of  study  are  open  to  all,  and  tourists 
may  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  of  hearing  lectures  from 
the  most  eminent  Catholic  scholars  on  the  various  important 
questions  in  the  different  departments  of  knowledge  that  engage 
public  attention  to-day. 

Plattsburgh.  (Pour  miles  from  Bluff  Point  and  168  from 
Albany.  A  town  of  8,000  inhabitants  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sara- 
nac  River.)  The  Fouquet  Hotel,  conveniently  located,  under 
the  management  of  Paul  Smith,  is  near  the  station.  The 
northern  part  of  Lake  Champlain  offers  special  attractions  to 


THE  HUDSON.  273 

camping  parties.  The  shores  and  islands  abound  in  excellent 
sites.  Lake  Champlain  is  also  replete  with  interest  to  the  his- 
torian. The  ruins  of  Fort  St.  Anne  are  still  seen  on  the  north 
end  of  the  Isle  La  Mott,  built  by  the  French  in  1660.  Valcour 
Strait,  where  one  of  the  battles  of  '76  was  foug-ht ;  Valcour's  Is- 
land, where  lovers  came  from  far  and  near,  built  air  castles, 
wandered  throug-h  these  shady  groves  for  a  season  or  two,  and 
then  v.anished  from  sight,  bankrupt  in  everything  but  mutual 
affection ;  Cumberland  Bay,  with  its  victory,  September,  1814, 
when  the  British  were  driven  back  to  Canada ;  and  many  other 
points  which  can  be  visited  by  steamer  or  yacht. 

It  is  almost  thirty  years  since  I  made  my  first  trip  to  the 
Adirondacks.  I  remember  the  long  route  to  the  Saranacs  and 
the  mountain  trails  over  Tahawas ;  but  last  autumn  I  stepped 
aboard  a  well  equipped  train  at  Plattsburgh  and  in  five  or  six 
hours  (I  forgot  the  time  in  the  glory  of  that  October  day)  found 
myself  by  the  bright  waters  of  the  Lower  Saranac,  and  instead 
of  the  old  time  hotel  with  its  straight  verandas,  found  a  hotel 
of  architectural  grace,  the  "Ampersand,"  furnished  with  the 
most  comfortable  modern  conveniences.  The  "Ampersand" 
might  to-day  be  called  the  centre  and  starting  point  for  all  re- 
sorts and  camping  grounds  in  the  Lake  District  of  the  Adiron- 
dacks. Floating  about  the  Saranac  Islands  of  a  summer  even- 
ing, roaming  among  forest  trees,  strolling  over  to  the  little 
village  one  mile  distant,  and  absorbing  the  rich  exhilaration  ot 
a  life  of  untrammeled  freedom,  with  a  perfect  hotel,  and  blazing 
fire-places  if  the  weather  happens  to  be  unpleasant,  form  a 
grand  combination,  alike  for  pleasure  seekers,  and  in  this  busy 
age,  seekers  after  rest. 


274  THE  HUDSON. 

Ten  years  ago  the  writer  prepared  an  article  for  the  June  or 
July  Outing,  and  transcribes  it  here  as  it  presents  fully  his  idea 
of  the  Adirondacks. 

Tlie  Adirondacks. — The  White  Mountains  are  frequently 
called  the  Switzerland  of  America  :  Lake  Georg-e  and  Lake 
Memphremagog  are  often  likened  to  Loch  Katrine,  or  Loch 
Lomond ;  the  Hudson  is  sometimes  compared  with  the  Rhine  *, 
but  it  is  the  glory  of  the  Adirondacks  that  no  traveler  has  been 
able  to  liken  them  to  any  other  part  of  the  earth's  surface.  The 
Yosemite,  on  the  Pacific  slope,  and  the  Adirondacks,  on  the  At- 
lantic, stand  alone  in  their  peculiar  types  of  sublimity  and  beauty. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  naturally  divides  itself  into  two  sec- 
tions,— the  eastern,  or  mountain  district,  and  the  western  or  lake 
district  ;  the  division  line  being  well  indicated  by  the  north 
branch  of  the  Hudson  and  the  west  branch  of  the  Ausable.  The 
lake  district  empties  its  waters  into  the  St.  Lawrence ;  the 
mountain  district  into  Lake  Champlain  and  the  Hudson. 

In  this  article  I  propose  to  speak  of  the  mountain  district.  It 
must  not,  however,  be  understood  by  the  reader  that  the  mount- 
ain district  has  no  lakes,  or  the  lake  district  no  mountains ;  for 
the  "  Braided  Lakes,"  west  of  the  Hudson  water-shed,  reflect  in 
their  bright  mirrors  many  mountain  i)eaks  of  no  mean  altitude  ; 
and  the  traveler  over  the  trails  of  Tahawas  and  Skylight  will 
drink  of  the  clear  waters  of  Lakes  Avalanche  and  Golden,  of 
Lakes  Henderson  and  Ausable. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  talk  of  the  Adirondacks  as  a  health 
resort,  although  its  pine,  hemlock  and  fir-balsam  forests  make  it 
unrivaled  as  a  sanitarium;  nor  to  consider  its  great  mineral 
resources,  but  simply  to  indicate  some  of  its  principal  features  of 


THE  HUDSON.  275 

beauty,  its  general  points  of  attraction,  and  the  best  way  of 
reaching-  them. 

As  it  is  my  purpose  to  make  this  a  practical  article, — that  is, 
to  convey  accurate  information  to  persons  unfamiliar  with  this 
mountain  district, — it  may  perhaps  be  v^rell  to  indicate  briefly 
our  first  trip  over  Tahawas,  just  ten  years  ago,  here  and  there 
marking  the  changes  which  I  noted  last  summer. 

We  (the  Tahawas  Club)  took  the  cars  one  bright  August 
morning  from  Plattsburgh  to  Ausable  Forks,  a  distance  of  some 
twenty  miles,  hired  a  team  to  Beede's,  the  terminal  j)oint  of 
civilization,  some  thirty  miles  distant  from  the  "  Forks  ;  *'  took 
dinner  at  Keene,  and  pursued  our  route  u])  the  beautiful  valley 
of  the  Ausable.  Beede's  was  then  merely  a  farm-house,  and  as 
the  "house ''  was  full,  we  camped  in  the  l)arn.  My  last  visit  pre- 
sented a  large  and  commodious  hotel,  with  jjleasant  rooms  and 
wide  veranda,  in  cheerful  contrast  to  the  first  entertainment. 

From  this  point  we  visited  Roaring-Brook  Falls,  some  four 
hundred  feet  high,  which  we  remember  as  a  very  beautiful 
waterfall  in  the  evening  twilight.  The  next  morning  we 
started,  bright  and  early,  for  the  Ausable  Ponds.  Four  miles  of 
wood-road,  smoothed  recently  into  a  very  comfortable  carriage 
road,  brought  us  to  the  Lower  Ausable.  The  historic  guide, 
"old  Phelps,"  rowed  us  across  the  Lower  Lake,  pointing  out, 
from  our  slowly  moving  and  heavily  laden  scow,  "  Indian  Head  " 
on  the  left,  and  the  "  Devil's  Pulpit''  on  the  right,  lifted  about 
eight  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  lake.  "Phelps" 
remarked  with  quaint  humor,  that  he  was  frequently  likened  to 
his  Satanic  Majesty,  as  he  often  took  clergymen  "up  thar.', 
The  rocky  walls  of  this  lake   rise  from  one  thousand   to  fifteen 


276  THE   HUDSON. 

hundred  feet  high,  in  many  places  almost  perpendicular.  A 
large  eagle  soared  above  the  cliffs,  and  circled  in  the  air  above 
us  -  but  no  one  in  the  party  had  the  rashness  to  shoot  at  it.  In 
fact  we  had  fired  most  of  our  ammunition  off  the  day  previous  at 
squirrels  on  the  fences,  without  grazing  a  hair,  or  scarcely 
frightening  the  lively  quadrupeds. 

After  reaching  the  southern  portion  of  the  Lake,  a  trail  of  a 
mile  and  a  quarter  leads  to  the  Upper  Ausable — to  our  minds, 
the  gem  of  the  Adirondacks.  This  lake,  over  two  thousand 
feet  above  the  tide,  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  lofty  mountains 
Our  camp  was  on  the  eastern  shore,  and  I  can  never  forget  the 
sun-set  view,  as  rosy  tints  lit  up  old  Skylight,  the  Haystack 
and  the  Gothics ;  nor  can  I  ever  forget  the  evening  songs  from 
a  camp-fire  across  the  lake,  or  the  "  Bear  story  "  told  by  Phelps, 
a  tale  never  really  finished,  but  made  classic  and  immortal  by 
Stoddard,  in  his  spicy  and  reliable  hand-book  to  the  North  Woods. 

The  next  morning  we  rowed  across  the  lake  and  took  the 

Bartlett  trail,  ascending  Haystack,  some  five  thousand  feet  high, 

just  to  get  an  appetite  for  dinner  ;  our  guide  encouraging  us  on 

the  way  by  saying  that  there  never  had  been  more  than  twenty 

people  before  "on  that  air  peak."    In  fact,  there  was  no  trail, 

and  in  some  places  it  was  so  steep  that  we  were  compelled  to  go 

up  on  all  fours  ;  or  as  Scott  i)uts  it  more  elegantly  in  the  "  Lady 

of  the  Lake  : " 

•'  The  foot  was  fain 
Assistance  from  the  hand  to  gain." 

The  view  from  the  summit  well  repaid  the  toil.  We  saw  Slide 
Mountain,  near  by  to  the  north,  and  Whiteface  far  beyond,  per- 
haps twenty-five  miles  distant ;  northeast,  the  Gothics  ;  cast, 
Saw-teeth,  Mt.  Colvin,  Mt.  Dix,  and  the  Lakes  of  the  Ausablo. 


THE  HUDSON.  277 

To  the  southeast,  Skylight ;  northwest,  Tahawas,  still  called  by 
some  Mt.  Marcy.  The  descent  of  Haystack  was  as  easy  as 
Virgil's  famous  "Descensus  Averni."  We  went  down  in  just 
twenty  minutes.  The  one  that  reached  the  bottom  first  simply 
possessed  better  adaptation  for  rolling. 

One  mile  from  the  foot  of  Haystack  brought  us  to  Panther 
Gorge  Camp,  appropriately  named,  one  of  the  wildest  spots  in 
the  Adirondacks.  We  remained  there  that  night  and  slept 
soundly,  although  a  dozen  of  us  were  packed  lo  closely  in  one 
small  camp  that  no  individual  could  turn  over  without  dis- 
arranging the  whole  mass.  Caliban  and  Trinculo  were  not  more 
neighborly,  and  Sebastian,  even  sober,  would  have  been  fully 
justified  in  taking  us  for  "  a  rare  monster ''  with  twenty  legs. 

The  next  morning  we  ascended  Tahawas,  but  saw  nothing 
save  whirling  clouds  on  its  summit.  Twice  since  then  we  have 
had  better  fortune,  and  looked  down  from  this  mountain  peak, 
five  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty-four  feet  above  the  sea, 
upon  the  loveliest  mountain  landscape  that  the  sun  ever  shone 
upon.  We  went  down  the  western  slope  of  Tahawas,  through  a 
driving  rain,  to  Camp  Colden,  where,  with  clothes  hung  up  to 
dry,  we  looked  like  a  party  of  New  Zealanders  preparing  dinner, 
hungry  enough,  too,  to  make  an  orthodox  meal  of  each  other. 
The  next  day  the  weather  cleared  up,  and  we  made  a  trip  of 
two  miles  over  a  rough  mountain  trail  to  Lake  Avalanche,  whose 
rocky  and  precipitous  walls  form  a  fit  christening  bowl,  or  bap- 
tistery-font for  the  infant  Hudson. 

Returning  to  Camp  Colden  and  resuming  our  western  march, 
two  miles  brought  us  to  Calamity  Pond,  where  a  lone  monument 
marks  the  spot  of  David  Henderson's  death,  by  the  accidental 


278  THE  HUDSON. 

discharg-e  of  a  pistol.  Five  miles  from  this  point  brought  us  to 
the  ''  Deserted  Village,"  or  the  Upper  Adirondack  Iron  Works, 
with  houses  and  furnaces  abandoned,  and  rajndly  falling  into 
decay.     Here  we  found  a  pleasant  hotel  and  cordial  welcome. 

Had  I  time  to  picture  to  you  this  level,  grass-grown  street, 
with  ten  or  fifteen  square  box-looking  houses,  windowless,  empty 
and  desolate  ;  a  school-house  with  its  long  vacation  of  twenty- 
three  years ;  a  bank  with  heavy  shutters  and  ponderous  locks, 
whose  floor.  Time,  the  universal  burglar,  had  undermined  ;  two 
large  furnaces  with  great  rusty  wheels,  whose  occupation  was 
gone  forever ;  a  thousand  tons  of  charcoal,  untouched  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  ;  thousands  of  brick  waiting  for  a  builder  ; 
a  real  haunted  house,  whose  flapping  clap-boards  contain  more 
spirits  than  the  Black  Forests  of  Germany — a  village  so  utterly 
desolate,  that  it  has  not  even  the  vestige  of  a  graveyard — if  I 
could  picture  to  you  this  village,  as  it  appeared  to  me  that  weird 
midnight,  lying  so  quiet, 

"  under  the  light  of  the  solemn  moon," 
you  would  realize  as  I  did  then,  that  truth  is  indeed   stranger 
than  fiction,  and  that  Goldsmith  in  Im  "  Deserted  Village"  had 
not  overdrawn  the  description  of  desolate  Auburn. 

By  special  request,  we  were  i)ermitted  to  sleep  that  night  in 
the  Haunted  House,  and  no  doubt  we  listened  to  the  first  crack- 
ling that  the  old  fire-place  had  known  for  years  Many  bedsteads 
in  the  old  houses  were  still  standing,  so  we  only  needed  bedding 
from  the  hotel  to  make  us  comfortable.  As  wo  went  to  sleep  we 
expressed  a  wish  to  be  interviewed  in  the  still  hours  of  the 
night  by  any  ghosts  or  spirits  who  might  happen  to  like  our 
com])any  ;  but  the  spirits  must  have  been  absent  on  a  visit  that 
evening,  for   we   slept   undisturbed  until  the  old  boll,  suspended 


THE  HUDSON.  279 

in  a  tree,  rang- out  the  cheery  notes  of  "trout  and  pickerel." 
We  understand  that  the  Haunted  House  from  that  night  lost  its 
old-time  reputation,  and  is  now  frequently  brought  into  requisi- 
tion as  an  "  Annex,"  whenever  the  hotel  or  "  Club  House,"  as  it 
is  now  called,  happens  to  be  full.  The  "  Deserted  Village  "  is 
rich  in  natural  beauty.  Lakes  Henderson  and  Sanford  are  near 
at  hand,  and  the  lovely  Preston  Ponds  are  only  five  miles  distant. 

Resuming  our  march  through  Indian  Pass,  under  old  Wall- 
Face  Mountain,  we  reached  a  comfortable  farm-house  at  sunset, 
near  North  Elba,  known  by  the  name  of  Scott's.  The  next 
morning  we  visited  John  Brown's  house  and  grave  by  the  old 
rock,  and  read  the  beautiful  inscription,  "Bury  me  by  the  Old 
Rock,  where  T  used  to  sit  and  read  the  word  of  God." 

From  this  point  we  went  to  Lake  Placid,  engaged  a  lad  to  row 
us  across  the  lake— some  of  our  party  had  gone  on  before — and 
strapped  our  knapsacks  for  another  mountain  climb.  We  were 
fortunate  in  having  a  lovely  day,  and  from  its  sparkling  glacier- 
worn  summit  we  could  look  back  on  all  the  mountains  of  our 
pleasant  joui-ney,  and  far  away  across  Lake  Champlain  to  Mount 
Mansfield  and  Camel's  Hump  of  the  Green  Mountains,  and 
farther  still  to  the  faint  outlines  of  Mount  Washington.  We 
reached  Wilmington  that  night,  drove  the  next  morning  to 
Ausable  Forks,  and  took  the  cars  for  Plattsburgh.  The  ten  days' 
trip  was  finished,  and  at  this  late  hour  I  heartily  thank  the 
Tahawas  Club  of  Plattsburgh  for  taking  me  under  their  gener- 
ous care  and  guidance.  We  took  Phelps,  our  guide,  back  with 
us  to  Plattsburgh.  When  he  reached  the  "  Porks,"  and  saw  the 
cars  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  he  stooped  down  and,  examin- 
ing the  track,  said,  "  What  tarnal  little  wheels."    I  suppose  he 


280 


THE  HUDSON. 


concluded  that  if  the  ordinary  cart  had  two  large  wheels,  that 
real  car  wheels  would  resemble  the  Rings  of  Saturn.  He  saw 
much  to  amuse  and  interest  him  during  his  short  stay  in  Platts- 
burgh,  but  after  all  he  thought  it  was  rather  lonesome,  and 


INDIAN  HEAD. 

gladly  returned  to  his  lakes  and  mountains,  where  he  slept  in 
peace,  with  the  occasional  intrusion  of  a  "  Bar  "  or  a  "  PainLcr." 
He  knew  the  region  about  Tahawas  as  an  engineer  knows  his 
engine,  or  as  a  Greek  Professor  knows  the  pages  of  his  lexicon. 
He  had  lived  so  closely  with  nature  that  he  seemed  to  under- 


THE  HUDSON.  281 

stand  her  gentlest  whispers,  and  he  had  more  genuine  poetry  in 
his  soul  than  many  a  man  who  chains  weak  ideas  in  tangled 
metre. 

Since  that  first  delightful  trip  I  have  risited  the  Adirondacks 
many  times,  and  I  hope  this  summer  to  repeat  the  excursion. 
To  me  Tahawas  is  the  grand  centre.  It  remains  unchanged.  In 
fact,  the  route  I  have  here  traced  is  the  same  to-day  as  then. 
Even  the  rude  camps  are  located  in  the  same  places,  with  the 
exception  that  the  trail  has  been  shortened  over  Tahawas,  and 
a  camp  established  on  Skylight.  With  good  guides  the  route  is 
not  difficult  for  ladies  in  good  health, — say  sufficient  health  to 
endure  half  a  day's  shopping.  Persons  contemplating  the 
mountain  trip  need  blankets,  a  knapsack,  and  a  rubber  cloth  or 
overcoat ;  food  can  be  procured  at  the  hotels  or  farm  houses. 

In  this  hasty  sketch  I  have  had  little  space  to  indulge  in  pic- 
ture-painting. I  passed  Bridal- Veil  Fall  without  a  reference.  I 
was  tempted  to  loiter  on  the  banks  of  the  Feld-spar  and  the 
bright  Opalescent,  but  I  passed  by  without  even  picking  a  pebble 
from  the  clear  basins  of  its  sparkling  cascades.  I  passed  the 
"  tear  of  the  clouds,"  four  thousand  feet  above  the  tide — that 
fountain  of  the  Hudson  nearest  to  the  sky,  without  being  beguiled 
into  X3oetry.  I  have  not  ventured  upon  a  description  of  a  sunrise 
view  from  the  summit  of  Tahawas,  of  the  magic  effect  of  light 
above  clouds  that  clothe  the  surrounding  peaks  in  garments 
wrought,  it  seems,  of  softest  wool,  until  mist  and  vapor  dissolve 
in  roseate  colors,  and  the  landscape  lies  before  us  like  an  open 
book,  which  many  glad  eyes  have  looked  upon  again  and  again.  I 
have  left  it  for  your  guides  to  tell  you,  by  roaring  camp-fires, 
long  st/Ories  of  adventure  in  trapping  and  hunting,  of  wondrous 


282  THE  HUDSONo 

fishes  that  grow  lono-er  and  heavier  every  season,  althoug-h  cap- 
tured and  broiled  many  and  many  a  year  ago — trout  and  pickerel 
literally  pickled  in  fiction,  served  and  re-served  in  the  piquant 
sauce  of  mountain  vocabulary.  In  brief,  I  have  kept  my  imagi- 
nation and  enthusiasm  under  strict  control.  But,  after  all,  the 
Adirondacks  are  a  wonderland,  and  we,  who  dwell  in  the  Hud- 
son and  Mohawk  valleys,  are  happy  in  having  this  great  Park  of 
Nature's  making  at  our  very  doors. 

It  has  charms  alike  for  the  hunter,  the  angler,  the  artist,  the 
writer,  and  the  scientist.  Let  us  rejoice,  therefore,  that  the 
State  of  New  York  is  waking  at  last  to  the  fact,  that  these 
northern  mountains  were  intended  by  nature  to  be  something 
more  than  lumber  ranches,  to  be  despoiled  by  the  axe,  and 
finally  revert  to  the  State  for  "  taxes"'  in  the  shape  of  bare  and 
desolate  wastes.  Nor  can  the  most  practical  legislator  charge 
those,  who  wish  to  preserve  the  Adirondack  Woods,  with  idle 
sentiment  ;  as  it  is  now  an  established  scientific  fact  that  the 
rainfall  of  a  country  is  largely  dependent  upon  its  forest  land.  If 
the  water  supply  of  the  north  were  cut  off,  to  any  perceptiDle 
degree,  the  Hudson,  during  the  month  of  July  and  August, 
would  be  a  mere  sluice  of  salt  water  from  New  York  to  Albany  ; 
and  the  northern  canals,  dependent  on  this  supply,  would 
become  empty  and  useless  ditches.  Our  age  is  intensely  practi- 
cal, but  we  are  fortunate  in  this,  that  so  far  as  the  preservation 
of  the  Adirondacks  is  concerned,  utility,  common  sense,  and  the 
appreciation  of  the  beautiful  are  inseparably  blended. 

To  those  persons  who  do  not  desire  long  mountain  jaunts,  who 
simply  need  some  quiet  place  for  rest  and  recuperation,  T  would 
suggest  this  :  Select  some  place  near  the  base  of  these  clustered 


AN  ADIRONDACK  CAMP  FIRE. 


THE  HUDSON.  285 

mountains,  like  the  tasty  Adirondack  Lodge  at  Clear  Pond,  only 
seven  miles  from  the  summit  of  Tahawas,  or  Beede's  pleasant 
hotel,  high  and  dry  above  Keene  Flats,  near  to  the  Ausable 
Ponds,  or  some  pleasant  hotel  or  quiet  farm-house  in  the  more 
open  country  near  Lake  Placid  and  the  Saranacs.  But  I  proph- 
esy that  the  spirit  of  adventure  will  come  with  increased 
strength,  and  men  and  women  alike  will  be  found  wandering-  off 
on  long  excursions,  sitting  about  great  camp-fires,  ay,  listening 
like  children  to  tales  which  have  not  gathered  truth  with  age. 
If  you  have  control  of  your  time  you  will  find  no  pleasanter 
months  than  July,  August  and  September,  and  when  you  return 
to  your  firesides  with  new  vigor  to  fight  the  battle  of  life,  you 
will  feel,  I  think,  like  thanking  the  writer  for  having  advised 
you  to  go  thither. 

I  have  written  in  this  article  the  Indian  name,  Tahawas,  in 
the  place  of  Mt.  Marcy,  and  for  this  reason  :  There  is  no  justice 
in  robbing  the  Indian  of  his  keen,  poetic  appreciation,  by  chang- 
ing a  name,  which  has  in  itself  a  definite  meaning,  for  one  that 
means  nothing  in  its  association  with  this  mountain.  We  have 
stolen  enough  from  this  unfortunate  race,  to  leave,  at  least, 
those  names  in  our  woodland  vocabulary  that  chance  to  have  a 
musical  sound  to  our  imported  Saxon  ears.  The  name  Tahawas 
is  not  only  beautiful  in  itself,  but  also  poetic  in  its  interpretation 
— signifying  "  I  cleave  the  clouds."  Coleridge,  in  his  glorious 
hymn,    "Before  sunrise  in  the  vale  of  Chamouni,"  addresses 

Mount  Blanc : 

"Around  thee  and  above 
Deep  is  the  air  and  dark,  substantial,  black— 
An  ebon  mass.    Methinks  thou  piercest  it. 
As  with  a  wedge!" 


286  THE  HUDSON. 

The  name  or  meaning  of  Tahawas  was  never  made  known  to 
the  great  English  poet,  who  died  fifty  years  ago.  Is  it  not  re- 
markable that  the  untutored  Indian,  and  the  keenest  poetic 
mind  which  England  has  produced  for  a  century,  should  have 
the  same  idea  in  the  uplifted  mountains  ?  There  is  also  another 
reason  why  we,  as  a  State,  should  cherish  the  name  Tahawas. 
While  the  Sierra  Nevadas  and  the  Alps  slumbered  beneath  the 
waves  of  the  ocean,  before  the  Himalayas  or  the  Andes  had 
asserted  their  supremacy,  scientists  say,  that  the  high  peaks  of 
the  Adirondacks  stood  alone  above  the  waves,  "the  cradle 
of  the  world's  life  ;"  and,  as  the  clouds  then  encircled  the  vast 
waste  of  water,  Tahawas  then  rose — "Cleaver"  alike  of  the 
waters  and  the  clouds. 


THE  HUDSON.  287 


DELAWARE  AND  HUDSON   RAILROAD. 

SusquetLanna  Division.— There  are  few  railroads  in  our 
country  that  possess  for  so  many  miles  suchvariety  and  interest 
as  the  Susquehanna  Division  of  the  Delaware  &  Hudson.  All  the 
way  from  Albany  to  Binghamton  the  hills  and  valleys,  the 
streams,  rivulets,  and  rivers  form  a  succession  of  beautiful  land- 
scapes, framed  in  the  moving  panorama  of  a  car  window.  The 
railroad  follows  the  valleys  of  three  streams — the  Schoharie,  the 
Cobleskill,  and  the  Susquehanna. 

Leaving  Albany  we  pass  through  the  little  villages  and 
stations  of  Adamsville,  Slingerlands,  New  Scotland,  Guilderland, 
Knowersville,  Duanesburgh,  Quaker  Street,  Esperance,  and 
come  to  Central  Bridge,  thirty-six  miles  from  Albany,  the  junc- 
tion with  the  branch  road  for  Schoharie  Court  House  and 
Middleburgh.  Schoharie  village,  the  county  seat,  is  situated  on 
Schoharie  Flats.  First  settlement  made  in  1711.  Population 
about  fifteen  hundred.  The  old  stone  church,  erected  in  1772,  is 
now  used  as  an  arsenal.  Three  miles  from  Central  Bridge,  or 
thirty-nine  miles  from  Albany,  is  the  celebrated — 

Howe's  Cave,  discovered  on  the  22d  May,  1842,  by  Lester 
Howe.  In  interest  and  extent  it  is  second  only  to  the  great 
Mammoth  Cave  of  Kentucky,  and  presents,  in  truth,  a  new 
world  of  beauty,  with  arches  and  walls  reaching  away  for  miles, 
of  which  perhaps  the  half  is  only  discovered. 

Cobleskill,  a  pleasant  and  flourishing  village  is  the  next  sta- 
tion, forty-five  miles  from  Albany.  This  rich  and  fertile  valley 
was  called  by  the  Indians  Ots-ga-ra-ga.     This  is  the  junction  of 


288  THE  HUDSON. 

the  Cheii^j  Valley  Branch,  which  passes  thTough  Hyndsville, 
Seward  and  Sharon  Springs. 

Sharon  Springs,  once  the  rival  of  Saratog-a,  is  located  in 
a  valley  on  a  hill.  The  streets  are  well  shaded,  and  the  Sulphur 
Water  is  well  known  for  its  medicinial  qualities.  Returning  to 
Cobleskill,  we  pursue  our  route  westward  on  the  main  line  of 
the  Albany  &  Su^'^quehanna,  through  Richmondville,  iVihg  in  a 
valley  on  our  left,  East  Worcester,  Worcester,  Schenevus  and 
Maryland,  to  the  junction  of  the  Coojjerstown  &  Susquehanna  Val- 
ley Bailroad,  for — 

Cooperstown,  one  of  the  pleasantest  villages  in  New  York, 
and  one  of  the  classic  points  of  our  country.  It  is  situated  on 
the  shores  of  Otsego,  a  beautiful  lake  worthy  of  being  the  fount- 
ain head  of  the  bright-flowing  Susquehanna.  The  lake  is  1,200 
feet  above  the  sea.  Like  Mahopac,  it  is  literally  surrounded 
with  beauty,  and  like  Irvington  or  Tarrytown,  Cooperstown  is 
one  of  the  literary  Meccas  of  our  country,  and,  by  all  means,  the 
place  to  read  the  works  of  Cooper. 

Ricnfield  Springs.— The  route  to  this  popular  resort,  via 
Cooperstown  and  Otsego  Lake,  is  one  of  the  most  charming,  ro- 
mantic, and  delightful  of  any  trip  designated  in  our  guide,  and 
the  village  and  surroundings  of  Richfield  are  worthy  of  the  in- 
creasing tide  of  visitors.  Of  course,  persons  in  a  hurry  will  take 
a  drawing-room  coach  at  the  New  York  Central  depot,  via  Utica, 
and  arrive  at  Richfield  Springs  in  eight  hours;  but  a  little 
steamboating  and  coaching — ten  miles,  via  the  Natty  Bumppo 
steamer  and  six  or  seven  miles  by  stage — give  variety  to  the 
route.  Richfield  Springs  is  situated  on  an  elevated  plateau, 
1,700  feet  above  tide-water,  and  has  all  the  requisites  of  health 


THE  HUDSON.  289 

and  beauty,  surrounded  by  mountains  and  lakes  on  every 
hand. 

Canadarago  Lake  is  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  directly 
south  from  the  Springs,  five  miles  long,  and  one  and  a  half 
miles  wide,  surrounded  by  wood-covered  mountain  ranges,  and 
abounding  in  excellent  fish.  The  drives  around  and  to  the  dif- 
ferent lakes  that  gem  the  mountains,  and  along  the  streams  that 
braid  the  valleys,  often  detain  the  casual  visitor ;  for  Mr.  Seward 
expressed  something  besides  poetry  in  prose  in  his  oration  of 
July  4th,  1840,  when  he  said  :  '"I  have  desired  to  see  for  myself 
the  valleys  of  Otsego,  through  which  the  Susquehanna  extends 
his  arms  and  entwines  his  fingers  with  the  tributaries  of  the 
Mohawk,  as  if  to  divert  that  gentle  river  from  its  allegiance  to 
the  Hudson.'- 

Returning  to  Cooperstown  Junction,  our  route  takes  us  south- 
west through  Colliers  and  Emmon's  to  Oneonta,  one  of  the  most 
stirring  villages  on  the  route.  The  next  station  is  Otsego. 
From  this  point  stages  connect  with  the  pleasant  village  of 
Franklin;  passing  through  Well's  Bridge,  Unadilla,  Sidney, 
(with  its  branch  road  to  Delhi),  Afton,  and  Harpersville,  we 
come  to  the  Tunnel,  127  miles  from  New  York.  Then  passing 
through  Osborn  Hollow  and  Port  Crane,  we  arrive  at  Bingham- 
ton,  completing  the  equilateral  triangle — New  York,  Albany, 
and  Binghamton.  It  is  a  flourishing  city,  and  has  railway  con- 
nection with  the  Erk,  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Westeni,  and 
Syraciise  &  Binghamton  Bailways. 


290  THE  HUDSON. 


ALBANY  TO  NIAGARA   FALLS. 

New  York  Central  &  Hudson  River  Railroad.— Taking: 

the  great  four-tracked  Xcw  York  Central  for  the  Adirondacks 
the  Thousand  Islands,  and  the  Lakes  of  Central  New  York,  we 
pass  through  the  lumber  district  of  Albany  (one  of  the  largest  of 
our  Eastern  markets),  and,  inclining  to  the  west,  mount  steadily 
a  slope,  which  in  early  days  of  "railroading"  was  surmounted 
by  a  stationary  engine.  Passing  through  West  Albany  and 
Karner,  we  reach  an  old-fashioned,  quiet  town,  seat  of  Union 
College — 

Scbenectady,  ( 17  miles  from  Albany,  population  15,000), 
where  connections  are  made  from  Troy,  Cohoes,  Ballston  and 
Saratoga.  Here  we  cross  the  Mohawk,  which  keeps  us  company 
for  a  hundred  miles  through  Hoffmans,  Crane's  Village,  Amster- 
dam, Aikens,  Tribe's  Hill,  Fonda,  Yosts,  Sprakers,  Palatine 
Bridge,  Fort  Plain,  St.  Johnsville,  East  Creek,  Little  Falls, 
Herkimer,  Ilion,  Frankfort,  to  Utica.  At  Fonda  connection  is 
made  with  Johnstown,  Gloversville,  Mayfield  and  Noi'thville,  on 
the  Sacandaga,  whose  poetic  name  reminds  us  of  a  charming 
walk  made  a  few  years  ago  from  Lucerne,  along  its  banks  to 
Lake  Pleasant.  At  Little  Falls  the  Mohawk,  confined  in  its  nar- 
row channel,  presents  to  the  traveler  a  series  of  picturesque 
views.  East  of  Little  Falls,  the  Mohawk  Indians  once  had  a 
village  known  as  Indian  Castle.  The  first  patent  granted  in  the 
Mohawk  Valley  was  to  Captain  Van  Slyck,  of  Schenectady— a 
gift  of  the  tribe.  In  1723  the  great  immigration  of  the  Pala- 
tines occurred,  and  from  that  tirpe  their  lands  wei*e  parcelled 


THE  HUDSON.  291 

out  until  at  last  they  had  no  abiding-  place.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  they  were  allies  of  the  English,  fighting  under  Sir 
William  Johnson,  who  had  his  home  at  Johnstown. 

Herkiiner.  A  branch  of  the  Adirondack  Division  of  the 
Keic  lork  dntraJ,  used  as  a  local  line,  connects  this  village  with 
Trenton  Falls,  Prospect,  and  Remsen,  but  the  main  line  is  via — 

Utica,  (95  miles  from  Albany,  population  46,608),  the  first 
express  station  on  the  Xew  York  Central,  (Bagg's  Hotel,  near  the 
station,  the  most  convenient  and  best).  Twenty-eight  miles 
over  the  Borne  and  Wateiioicn  and  Ogelenshurgh  line  brings  us  to 
Remsen.  Continuing  our  journey  we  come  to  Honedaga  and 
crossing  Blue  River  reach  "WTiite  Lake  at  the  blue  dotted 
portal  of  the  western  district  of  the  Adirondacks.  Otter  Lake 
and  McKeever  stations  are  soon  passed  and  we  come  to — 

Fulton  Chain  Station,  (58  miles  from  Herkimer),  "  Located 
in  Arnold's  Clearing  (John  Brown's  tract),  near  the  site  of  the 
Old  Forge,  and  about  one  and  a  half  miles  from  the  Old  Forge 
Steamboat  landing-,  where  connection  is  made  with  steamers 
for  the  head  of  Fourth  Lake,  passing  through  First,  Second, 
Third  and  Fourth  Lakes  of  the  Fulton  Chain.  Fourth  Lake  is 
one  of  the  largest  bodies  of  Adirondack  waters,  and  certainly 
one  of  the  prettiest.  The  popular  route  to  Raquette.  Blue 
Mountain  and  Long  Lakes  is  via  Fulton  Chain.  After  leaving 
the  steamer  at  the  head  of  Fourth  Lake,  the  tourist  is  taken  in 
small  boats  to  the  head  of  Fifth  Lake,  where  a  short  carry  is 
made,  when  the  boat  is  again  launched  at  the  foot  of  Sixth  Lake, 
and  used  to  the  head  of  Seventh,  where  another  carry  of  less 
than  a  mile  is  made  to  Eighth  (a  gem).  Again  the  boat  is  used 
to  the  head  of  Eighth  Lake,  another  carry  to  Brown's  tract  inlet, 


292  THE  HUDSON. 

and  thence  by  boat  to  the  Raquette.  The  distance  from  Old 
Forge  to  the  head  of  Fourth  Lake  is  about  ten  miles ;  through 
to  Raquette  Lake  about  25  miles.  A  small  steamer  plies  on 
Raquette  Lake  and  through  Marion  River,  connecting  at  Bas- 
sett's  Carry  with  another  small  steamer,  running  through  Uto- 
wana  and  Eagle  Lakes  to  Blue  Mountain  Lake,  one  of  the  most 
attractive  in  the  Adirondacks,  having  an  elevation  of  1,801  feet 
and  excellent  hotel  accommodations.  The  same  may  also  be 
said  of  Raquette  Lake ;  and  along  the  Fulton  Chain  will  be 
found  many  excellent  hotels  and  camping  places. 

From  Raquette  Lake  it  is  easy  to  reach  Forked  Lake  and 
Long  Lake,  the  trip  being  made  in  small  boats. 

From  Fulton  Chain  Station  the  line  of  the  railway  still  fol- 
lows the  north  branch  of  the  Moose  River,  and  69  miles  from 
Herkimer  we  reach  Big  Moose  Station.  Nine  miles  north  of 
Big  Moose  is  located  a  stopping  place  called  Beaver  River. 

Near  Beaver  River  Station  we  enter  Ne-ha-sa-ne  Park,  the 
private  preserve  of  Dr.  Webb.  Little  Rapids,  Lake  Lila  and 
Ne-ha-sa-ne  are  stations  for  the  personal  use  of  Dr.  Webb,  being 
located  within  Ne-ha-sa-ne  Park. 

One  hundred  miles  from  Herkimer  is  the  station  called  Horse- 
shoe Pond. 

After  leaving  Horseshoe  Pond  the  railway  runs  northward  close 
to  Pleasant  Lake,  and  swinging  around  Arab  Mountain  takes  an 
easterly  course.  At  a  point  near  where  the  turn  is  made  is 
Childwold,  which  is  the  station  for  Childwold  Park  and  Gales 
Pond  View  House,  on  Catamount  Pond. 

Six  miles  east  of  Childwold  the  railway  crosses  the  foot  of  Ra- 
quette Pond. 


THE  HUDSON.  293 

One  hundred  and  fourteen  miles  from  Herkimer  is  Tupper 
Lake  Junction,  the  station  for  Tupper  Lake  village,  and  also 
connecting-  point  with  the  Northern  Adirond<xck  Railroad. 

Beyond  Tupper  the  line  runs  northeast,  passing-  close  to  Little 
Wolfe  Pond,  a  short  distance  from  Big-  Wolfe  Pond,  and  between 
Mosquito  and  Rollins  Pond  past  Fleetwood  Pond  and  not  far 
from  Long  Pond,  close  to  Turtle  and  Hoel  ponds. 

We  next  come  to  Saranac  Inn  Station.  About  one  mile  dis- 
tant is  the  Saranac  Inn,  at  the  head  of  Upper  Saranac  Lake. 
Steamers  ply  between  Saranac  Inn  and  the  foot  of  the  lake. 

Big  Clear  Pond  and  Lake  Clear  stations  are  next  reached.  The 
Saranac  branch  leaves  the  main  line  at  Lake  Clear,  passing 
southeast,  crossing  Colby  Lake,  and  terminating  at  Saranac 
Lake,  a  distance  of  137  miles  from  Herkimer.  This  is  the  larg- 
est village  within  the  limits  of  the  Adirondack  region,  and  a 
famous  refuge  for  invalids. 

At  a  little  over  a  mile  from  the  village  is  Lower  Saranac  Lake. 

Returning  to  the  main  line  at  Lake  Clear,  we  travel  north- 
ward to  Paul  Smith's,  137  miles  from  Herkimer.  From  this  sta- 
tion there  is  an  excellent  carriage  road  to  the  old  and  well- 
known  resort,  "Paul  Smith's  Hotel,"  about  three  and  a  half 
miles  distant,  and  located  on  lower  St.  Regis  Lake. 

Four  miles  east  of  Paul  Smith's  Station  is  the  village  of 
Bloomingdale,  having  a  population  of  about  600. 

Rainbow  Lake  Station  is  two  miles  north  of  Paul  Smith's  Sta- 
tion. The  railway  passes  within  a  short  distance  of  Rainbow 
Lake  and  Wardner  Pond,  both  noted  fishing  grounds. 

The  next  stopping  place  is  Lake  Kushaqua  and  from  here 
north  the  line  of  the  railway  runs  along  the  eastern  side  of 


294  THE  HUDSON. 

Loon  Lake  Mountain  to  Loon  Lake   Station,  148   miles   from 
Herkimer. 

From  Loon  Lake  the  Adirondack  division  takes  a  northerly 
course  through  the  forrest,  passing-  Wolfe  and  Plumadore  ponds, 
then  turns  to  the  northwest  and  follows  the  Salmon  River  on 
the  west  side,  crossing  to  the  east  at  Mountain  View. 

From  here  we  proceed  across  a  long-  level  plateau,  with  mount- 
ains on  each  side,  until  Ring-ville  is  reached.  Owl's  Head, 
Branch  Pond  and  Debar  Mountains  are  in  plain  view  from  here. 
From  this  point  on  the  grade  gradually  descends,  the  road 
swinging  in  closely  to  and  finally  coming  out  high  up  on  the 
eastern  side  of  Salmon  River  Valley,  where  we  have  a  view  of 
great  beauty  and  grandeur.  Soon  the  buildings  of  Malone  come 
in  sight,  the  terminus  of  the  Adirondack  Division  proper,  and 
its  connecting  point  with  the  St.  Lawrence  &  Adirondack  Rail- 
road,  which  runs  north  to  Valleyfield,  crosses  the  St.  Lawrence 
River,  and  connects  at  Coteau  with  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  tor 
Montreal  and  the  Canada  Atlantic  Railway  for  Ottawa." 

It  will  also  be  remembered  that  the  Rome,  Wateiiown  &  Ogdens- 
hurgh  Railroad  connects  Utica  with  the  St.  Lawrence,  passing 
through  Trenton  Falls,  a  dream  of  beauty  framed  in  everlasting 
rock,  Lowville,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  villages  in  northern 
New  York,  Carthage,  with  its  celebrated  water  power  seventy- 
four  miles  from  Utica,  Watertown,  beautifully  situated  and  taste- 
fully laid  out  to  Clayton  and  Alexandria  Bay.  New  York  State  is 
singularly  favored  in  romantic,  grand,  and  picturesque  scenery. 
The  St.  Lawrence  is  one  of  the  few  rivers  in  the  world  worthy  of 
an  association  with  the  Hudson.  It  combines  many  features  of 
attraction.  From  Clayton  to  Alexandria  Bay  the  picturesque 
islands  present  features  not  to  be  found  on  any  other  sti'eam. 


THE  HUDSON.  295 

Some  of  the  islanas  are  miles  in  length  ;  others  are  hardly  large 
enough  to  support  a  colony  of  shrubs.  Many  of  them  are 
adorned  by  beautiful  summer  residences.  Three  or  four  belong 
to  religious  and  other  associations.  On  Wells  Island  two  or 
three  societies  have  their  summer  home — that  known  as 
"Thousand  Island  Park,"  being  the  largest. 

Returning  to  Utica  we  resume  our  western  route,  passing 
through  Oneida,  Chittenango  and  Manlius  to — • 

Syracuse,  (population  91,994),  148  miles  from  Albany,  the 
most  flourishing  and  enterprising  city  in  Central  New  York. 
We  are  now  in  what  might  be  called  the  Western  Lake  District. 
Oneida  Lake  having  been  passed  near  Oneida  and  Canastota, 
we  have  Cazenovia  Lake  to  the  southeast.  Lake  Skeneateles  to 
the  southwest,  Auburn  and  Owasco,  Cayuga  and  Seneca  to  the 
west,  Canandaigua  Lake  being  the  most  western  of  the  system. 
At  Syracuse  connection  is  made  with  Oswego.  (  Best  hotel  the 
Vanderbilt).  From  Syracuse  what  is  known  as  the  old  road 
takes  one  via  Auburn,  Cayuga  and  the  Lake  country,  while  the 
main  lino  passes  through  Clyde  and  Lyons  direct  to — 

Rocliester,  (228  miles  from  Albany,  population  144,834), 
the  finest  city  of  Western  New  York,  and  in  many  particulars, 
the  finest  in  the  State.  It  is  now  especially  attractive  to  the 
tourist,  for  it  is  the  happy  possessor  of  one  of  the  most  superb 
hotels  on  the  continent — the  new  Powers  Hotel.  We  doubt  if 
there  is  between  the  two  oceans  a  more  complete  and  attractive 
hotel,  when  we  take  into  account  the  Powers'  Block,  the  Powers' 
Hotel,  and  the  Powers'  Art  Gallery,  so  connected  and  arranged 
that  they  are  practically  one  building.  From  Rochester,  our 
route  takes  us  to — 


296  THE  HUDSON. 

Niagara  Falls  (Hotel,  Prospect  House,  strictly  first  class 
and  admirably  located)  via  Buffalo,  the  Empire  State's  western 
metropolis,  or  direct,  without  change.  During  the  last  few 
years  the  surroundings  of  the  Falls  have  been  greatly  improved 
on  the  American  side,  and  a  fine  park  enclosed,  and  laid  out  in 
walks.  It  is  secure,  even  for  children  and  absent-minded  lovers. 
The  walled  battlements  present  safe  standpoints  which  com- 
mand the  finest  views. 

The  American  Fall  (900  feet  across,  164  feet  high)  is  only  a 
short  distance  from  the  station.     We  have  seen  pictures  of  these 
Falls,  from  Church's  masterpiece  to  the  hastily  engraved  cut  of 
a  guide-book.     We  all  have  an  idea  how  the  Falls  look,  but  they 
never  speak  to  us  until  we  have  gazed  over  that  deep  abyss, 
and  up  the  stream  which  ever  rushes  on,  like  an  army  to  battle, 
and  down  the  crowded  chasm,  where  the  black  waters  have 
worn  their  passage,  through  the  silent,   unknown  centuries. 
Goat  Island,  the  natural  Central  Park  of  the  Falls,  is  connected 
with  the  American  side  by  a  bridge.     The  area  of  the  island  is 
about  sixty  acres.     The  Cave  of  the  Winds,  with  its  magnifi- 
cent curtain  of  changing  beauty,  the  Rainbow,  and  the  Whirl- 
pool Rapids  are  reached  by  Elevator.     Goat  Island  presents  a 
commanding  view  of  the  Horse  Shoe  Falls  which  Nature  has 
hung  as  an  omen  of  good  luck  and  amity  over  the  great  door- 
way between  the  United  States  and  Canada.     In  addition  to  the 
aesthetic  improvement  of  parks  and  driveways,  the  commer- 
cial side  of  Niagara  has  also  greatly  developed.     Three  bridges 
now  span  the  great  chasm  below  the  Falls  and  the  waterfall  has 
absolutely  been  harnessed  into  untold  horse  power  for  the  ser- 
vice or  man.     The  Scientific  Ainerican  of  June,  1898,  has  an  ex- 


THE  HUDSON.  297 

tended  article  on  the  subject,  from  which  we  clip  the  following" : 
"  The  canal  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manu- 
facturing Company  is  4,400  feet  long-.  For  the  past  six  years 
this  company  has  expended  a  large  amount  of  money  in  enlarg- 
ing it.  Their  right  to  take  water  from  the  upper  Niagara  has 
been  recognized  by  the  State  legislature  to  the  extent  that 
they  may  develop  many  thousand  horse  power.  The  present 
width  of  the  canal  at  its  entrance  is  250  feet.  In  400  feet  the 
width  narrows  down  to  70  feet,  and  at  this  width  it  continues  to 
the  basin,  which  is  located  about  300  feet  back  from  the  edge  of 
the  high  bank,  with  which  it  runs  parallel.  The  basin  is  about 
400  feet  long  and  70  feet  wide.  For  40  feet  of  the  present  width 
of  the  canal  the  channel  is  14  feet  deep,  and  for  the  remaining 
30  feet  it  is  8  feet  deep. 

The  original  section  of  the  building  was  completed  in  1896, 
and  contains  four  turbines  which  operate  eight  generators,  two 
of  which  furnish  power  for  the  operation  of  the  Niagara  Falls  and 
Lewiston  Railway,  better  known  as  the  "  Great  Gorge  Route." 
The  gate  house  is  located  over  the  forebay.  It  is  an  iron 
frame  structure  covered  with  corrugated  iron.  It  is  a  thoroughly 
fireproof  structure,  and  stands  in  the  rear  of  the  lower  wo7-ks  of 
the  Pittsburg  Reduction  Company.  Here  are  located  the  ap- 
pliances for  opening  and  closing  the  gates  which  allow  the  flow 
of  water  into  the  penstocks.  Before  the  water  passes  into  the 
penstocks  it  goes  through  racks  which  screen  out  all  floating 
substances  likely  to  endanger  the  wheels.  The  apparatus  in 
the  new  section  of  this  building  will  be  very  similar  to  that  of 
the  original  installation,  an  improvement  being  made  in  waste 
gate  appliances  so  as  to  avoid  all  trouble  from  floating  ice." 


298  THE   HUDSON. 

Burning  Spring-  is  about  a  mile  above  Table  Rock,  near  the 
river  edge.  Not  far  from  this  the  battle  of  Chippewa  was 
fought,  July  5,  1814.  And  also,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  falls, 
is  the  battle  ground  of  Lundy's  Lane.  Many  writers  have 
attempted  to  describe  Niagara,  but  in  every  description  there 
is  something  lacking.  We  can  give  its  dimensions,  its  height 
and  breadth,  and  point  out  the  places  to  be  seen ;  but  there  is  a 
Unity  about  Niagara  which  can  only  be  felt.  It  makes  one  wish 
that  David  could  have  seen  it,  and  added  a  new  chapter  to  the 
Psalms. 

What  a  wonderful  State  !  The  ''Empire"  in  scenery  as  in 
wealth  and  commercial  influence.  What  other  spot  in  the  wide 
world  can  present  in  such  narrow  compass  such  mountains  and 
wooded  lakes  as  the  Adirondacks,  such  charming  outlook  as  the 
Catskills,  such  islands  as  the  St.  Lawrence,  such  Highlands  as 
the  Hudson  and  so  noble  a  climax  of  majesty  as  Niagara. 

Proud  swaying  pendant  of  a  crystal  chain, 

On  fair  Columbia's  rich  and  bounteous  breast, 
With  beaded  lakes  that  necklace-like  retain 

Heaven's  stainless  blue  with  golden  sunlight  bleett 
What  other  land  can  boast  a  gem  so  bright! 

With  colors  born  of  sun  and  driven  spray— 
A  brooch  of  glory,  amulet  of  might. 

Where  all  the  irised  beauties  softly  stray. 
Ay,  more— God's  living  voice,  Niagara  thou! 

Proclaiming  wide  the  anthem  of  the  free; 
The  starry  sky  the  crown  upon  thy  brow. 

Thy  ceaseless  chant  a  song  of  Liberty. 
But  this  thy  birthright,  this  thy  sweetest  dowei^ 

Yon  arching  rainbow— Love  still  spanning  Power. 


COXDENSED  POIjSTTS 

AS    SEEN  ON   HUDSON    RIVER  DAY    LINE  STEAMERS   FROM 
NEW  YORK  TO  ALBANY. 

Desbrosses  Street  Pier.  On  leaving'  landing-  a  charming  view 
is  obtained  of  New  York  Harbor. 

SSnd  Street  Pier.    Upper  landing  for  Hudson  River  Steamers. 

Stevens  Castle,  on  west  bank,  almost  opposite  22nd  Street 
Landing. 

EUjsian  Fields,  close  to  castle  on  the  north  :  west  bank. 

Weehawken,  also  on  west  bank,  where  the  Hamilton  and  Burr 
duel  was  fought  in  1804. 

Tomb  of  General  Grant,  east  bank,  just  above  the  new  build- 
ings of  Columbia  College. 

Fort  Lee,  on  west  bank,  with  large  picnic  houses  at  foot  of 
bluff. 

Washington  Heights,  east  bank,  almost  opposite  Fort  Lee. 

Stewart  Castle,  east  bank,  formerly  owned  by  A.  T.  Stewart. 

Palisades,  on  west  bank,  extend  fifteen  miles  from  Fort  Lee 
to  Piermont,  a  sheer  w^all  of  trap  rock  from  300  to  500  feet  hig-h. 

Spuyten  DuyviL  on  east  bank,  northern  boundry  of  Manhattan 
Island. 

Site  of  Fort  Independence,  east  bank,  on  height  north  of  Spuy- 
ten Duyvil. 

Convent  of  Mount  St.  Vincent.  The  gray,  castle-like  structure 
in  front  was  once  the  home  of  Edwin  Forrest. 

Yonkers,  seventeen  miles  from  battery  on  east  bank. 

Greystone,  on  east  bank,  crowning  hill  about  one  and  a  half 
miles  north  of  Yonkers.     Once  property  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden. 

Hastings,  pleasant  village  on  east  bank. 

Indian  Head  (510  feet),  opposite  Hastings,  highest  point  of 
Palisades. 

Dobb's  Ferry,  on  east  bank,  named  after  an  old  Swedish 
ferryman. 

300 


THE  HUDSON.  301 

ArdsJey,  on  east  bank,  just  above  Dobb's  Ferry. 

Cosmopolitan  Building,  on  east  bank,  above  Ardsley. 

Irvington,  24  miles  from  New  York,  named  after  Washing-ton 
Irving. 

Piennont,  on  west  bank,  with  pier  almost  one  mile  in  length 
extending  into  the  river. 

Sunnyside,  home  of  Washington  Irving,  east  bank,  one-half 
mile  north  of  Irvington  Station,  close  to  river  bank  and  scarcely 
seen  through  the  trees. 

Helen  Gould's  Residence,  east  bank,  prominent  Abbey-like 
structure,  known  as  "  Lyndehurst." 

Tarrytown,  east  bank,  26  miles  from  New  York.  Monument 
to  captors  of  Major  Andre,  near  church  spire,  not  visible  from 
steamer. 

Nyack,  west  bank,  opposite  Tarry  town. 

Tappan  Zee,  reaching  from  Dobb's  Ferry  to  Croton  Point,  is 
about  three  miles  wide  at  Tarry  town. 

Sleepy  Holloic,  east  bank,  north  of  Tarry  town  ;  burial  place  of 
Washington  Irving ;  the  tall  shaft  visible  from  steamer, 
erected  by  the  Delavan  family,  is  near  his  grave. 

Bockwood,  home  of  William  Rockfeller.  One  of  the  most 
imposing  residences  on  the  Hudson. 

Eamapo  ^fountains,  on  west  side  above  Nyack,  known  as 
"  Point  No  Point." 

Sing  Sing,  on  east  bank,  six  miles  north  of  Tarrytown.  Prison 
buildings  near  the  river  below  the  village. 

Rockland  Lake,  opposite  Sing  Sing,  between  two  hills  ;  source 
of  the  Hackensack  River. 

Croton  River,  on  east  bank,  meets  the  Hudson  one  mile  above 
Sing  Sing;  crossed  by  draw-bridge  of  the  Hudson  River  Railroad. 

Ilaverstraw  Bay,  widest  part  of  the  river ;  over  four  miles  in 
width. 

West  Shore  Railroad,  west  bank,  meets  the  Hudson  south  of 
Haverstraw. 

Ilaverstraw,  on  west  side,  with  two  miles  of  brickyards. 


302  THE  HUDSON. 

Treason  Hill,  where  Arnold  and  Andre  met  at  the  house  of 
Joshua  Hett  Smith,  northwest  of  Haverstraw. 

Stony  Point,  west  bank.  Light-house  built  on  site  and  from 
the  material  of  old  fort  captured  from  the  British  by  Anthony 
Wayne  in  1778. 

PeekskiU,  east  bank,  pleasantly  located  on  Peekskill  Bay. 

New  York  State  Encampment,  on  bluff  north  of  Peekskill  Creek. 

KidcVs  Point,  on  west  bank,  where  steamer  enters  Highlands 
almost  at  a  right  angle. 

Dunderberg  3Iountain,  west  bank,  forming  with  Manito  Moan- 
tain  on  the  east,  the  southern  portal  of  the  Highlands. 

lona  Island,  pleasure  resort  for  excursions,  west  of  main 
channel  of  the  Hudson. 

Anthony^ s  Nose,  east  bank,  with  tunnel  of  Hudson  River  Rail- 
road. 

Forts  Montgomery  and  Clinton,  almost  opposite  on  west  bank. 

/.  Pierrepont  Morgan's  Besidence,  on  west  bank,  sheltered  by 
trees. 

Sugar-Loaf,  east  bank,  resembling  an  old  "sugar-loaf  "  look- 
ing north  from  Anthony's  Nose. 

Beverley  Dock,  at  foot  of  Sugar-Loaf,  from  which  point  Arnold 
fled  to  the  "Vulture." 

Hamilton  Fish's  Residence,  on  hillside. 

William  H  Osborne's  liesidence,  on  east  bank  ;  house  with 
pointed  tower  north  of  Sugar-Loaf. 

West  Point,  50  miles  from  New  York,  Academy  Buildings  and 
Parade  Grounds. 

Memorial  Hall,  commanding  building  on  bluff  above  landing. 

Garrison,  opposite  West  Point  on  east  bank. 

Fort  Putnam  (596  feet),  overlooks  the  Hudson  on  west  side. 

West  Point  Hotel,  west  bank,  wide  outlook  to  the  north.  One 
of  the  finest  locations  on  the  Hudson. 

Battle  3Ionument,  surmounted  by  Statue  of  "Victory." 

Constitution  Island,  on  east  bank;  chain  was  thrown  across  the 
river  at  this  point  during  the  Revolution. 


THE  HUDSON.  303 

Old  Cro^  Nest,  picturesque  mountain  nortii  of  West  Point  on 
west  bank. 

Cold  Spring,  on  east  bank,  opposite  Old  Cro'  Nest. 

Undercliff,  of  George  P.  Morris,  on  slope  north  of  Cold 
Spring. 

Break  Neck  Mountain,  on  east  bank,  from  which  point  the 
Highlands  trend  away  to  the  northwest,  known  as  the  Beacon 
Mountains  and  the  Fiskill  Range. 

Storm  King,  on  west  bank,  marking  northern  portal  of  the 
Highlands. 

Cornwall,  pleasant  village  under  the  slope  of  Storm  King. 

PolloxjeVs  Idand,  at  northern  portal  of  the  Highlands. 

Idlewild,  above  Cornwall,  scarcely  visible  through  the  trees, 
former  home  of  N.  P.  Willis. 

Washington's  Headquarters,  Newburgh,  seen  as  the  boat  ap- 
proaches the  city.     A  flag-staff  marks  the  point. 

Newburgh,  west  bank,  59  miles  from  New  York. 

Fishkill  Landing,  on  east  bank,  opposite  Newburgh. 

New  Hamburgh,  above  Low  Point,  on  the  east  side. 

Shawangunk  Mountains,  on  the  west  side,  reach  away  in  the 
distance  tow^ard  the  Catskills. 

Marlborough  and  Milton.     Two  pleasant  villages  on  west  bank. 

Poughkeepsie,  74  miles  from  New  York.  (Vassar  College,  two 
miles  east,  not  seen  from  the  river.) 

Poughkeepsie  Bndge,  12,608  feet  in  length.  Track  212  feet 
above  tide-water. 

F.  J.  Allen's  liesidence,  with  tower  and  beautiful  grounds. 

3frs.  John  F.  Wiyhslow's  Besidence,  seen  through  opening  of 
trees  on  east  bank. 

Hudson  Eiver  State  Hospital.  Large  red  buildings  on  east 
bank,  two  miles  north  of  Poughkeepsie. 

Hyde  Park,  on  the  east  side,  six  miles  north  of  Poughkeepsie. 
Connected  with  Poughkeepsie  by  a  succession  of  villas. 

Besidence  of  Frederick  W.  Vanderhilt,  with  white  marble 
Corinthian  columns. 


304  THE  HUDSON. 

John  Burroughs,  brown  cottag-e,  east  bank,  nearly  opposite 
Vanderbilt's. 

Staatshurgh,  on  east  side.     Dock  and  ice  houses  in  foreground. 

Dinsmore''s  Besidence,  a  lar^-e  yellow  building-  on  Dinsmore 
Point. 

Ellerslie,  residence  of  Ex-Vice-President  Levi  P.  Morton,  be- 
low Rhinecliff. 

Bhinediff,  on  east  bank. 

City  of  Kingston,  embraces  Kingston  and  Rondout. 

Kingston  Point.  Day  Line  Landing.  Delig-htful  park  and 
picnic  grounds  near  the  landing. 

Ferndiff,  Besidence  of  William  Astor.  Fine  villa  with  pointed 
tower. 

Flatbush.     Village  seen  on  west  bank  opposite  Clifton  Point. 

Barrytown,  on  east  bank. 

Cruger's  Besidence,  on  Cruger's  Island. 

Tlie  First  Steamboat,  The  "Clermont,"  was  built  by  Robert 
Fulton  in  the  Cove,  known  as  North  Bay,  just  north  of  Cruger's 
Island. 

Tivoli,  on  east  side,  100  miles  from  New  York. 

Saugerties,  on  west  side. 

Maiden.     Above  Saugerties,  on  west  side. 

Germantown,  on  east  side,  105  miles  from  New  York. 

Man  in  the  Mountain.  Between  Germantown  and  Catskil  we 
get  a  fine  view  of  the  reclining  giant. 

Catskill,  110  miles  from  New  York. 

Prospect  Park  Hotel,  on  bluff  above  landing. 

Frederick  E.  Church's  Besidence.  One  of  the  most  commanding 
sites  and  finest  residences  on  the  east  bank,  opposite  Catskill. 

Bodger's  Island,  on  the  east  side,  where  the  last  battle  was 
fought  between  the  Mohawks  and  the  Mahicans. 

Mount  Merino,  two  miles  north  of  Rodger's  Island, on  the  cast 
bank. 

Hudson,  east  bank,  115  miles  from  New  York. 

Athe^is,  on  west  bank,  opposite  Hudson. 


THE  HUDSON.  305 

Stockport,  on  east  side,  four  miles  north  of  Hudson. 

Coxsaclcie,  on  west  side,  8  miles  from  Hudson. 

Stuyvesant,  on  the  east  side  ;  once  called  Kinderhook  Landing. 

New  Baltimore,  about  opposite  the  centre  of  Schodack  Island, 
fifteen  miles  from  Hudson  and  fifteen  from  Albany. 

Coeymans,  west  bank,  just  above  Beeren  Island. 

Castleton,  a  pleasant  village,  on  east  bank,  town  of  Schodack. 

Van  Rensselaer  Place.  One  of  the  Van  Rensselaer  houses  on 
the  east  bank,  built  before  the  Revolution. 

Rensselaer,  on  east  bank  (formerly  Greenbush). 

Albany,  144  miles  from  New  York,  with  beautiful  location  and 
grand  public  buildings  ;  notably  among  these  are  the  Capitol, 
the  Cathedral,  the  State  House  and  City  Hall. 


THE  NEW  HUDSON  PANORAMA, 

By  ■WALLACE  BRUCE. 


Author  of  "Old  Homestead  Poems,"    "Wayside  Poems,"   "In  Clover  and 
Heather."  &c. 


Commended  and  Appreciated  at  Home  and  Abroad. 


Both  banks  of  the  Hudson  in  one  continuous  picture  from 
New  Yoi-k  to  Albany.  The  most  remarkable  production  of 
Photography  and  Photo-Engraving  in  the  world. 

For  Sale  at  News  Stands  of  Hudson  River  Day  Line  Steamers  or  sent 
by  mail  on  receipt  of  One  Dollar. 

Address,  WALLACE  BRUCE,  267  Stuyvesant  Ave.,  Brooklyn,  N.Y. 


THE  HUDSON  TIDE. 

(Condensed  from  article  by  permission  of  writer.) 

The  tide  in  the  Hudson  River  is  the  continuation  of  the  tide- 
wave,  which  comes  up  from  the  ocean  through  New  York  Bay, 
and  is  carried  by  its  own  momentum  one  hundred  and  sixty 
miles,  growing,  of  course,  constantly  smaller,  until  it  is  finally 
stopped  by  the  dam  at  Troy.  The  crest  of  this  wave,  or  top 
high  water,  is  ten  hours  going  from  New  York  to  Troy.  A 
steamer  employing  the  same  time  (ten  hours)  for  the  journey, 
and  starting  at  high  water  in  New  York,  would  carry  a  flood 
tide  and  highest  water  all  the  way,  and  have  an  up-river  current 
of  about  three  miles  an  hour  helping  her.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  same  steamer  starting  six  hours  later,  or  at  low  tide,  would 
have  dead  low  water  and  an  ebb-tide  current  of  about  three 
miles  against  her  the  entire  way.  The  average  rise  and  fall 
of  the  tides  in  New  York  is  five  and  one-half  feet,  and  in  Troy, 
about  two  feet. 

The  flood  tide  may  carry  salt  water,  under  the  most  favorable 
circumstances,  so  that  it*  can  be  detected  at  Poughkeepsie,  but 
ordinarily  the  water  is  fresh  at  Newburgh. 

To  those  who  have  not  studied  the  tides  the  following  para- 
graphs will  also  be  of  interest. 

The  tides  are  the  semi-diurnal  oscillations  of  the  waters  of 
the  ocean,  caused  by  the  attraction  of  the  moon  and  sun. 

The  influence  of  the  moon's  attraction  is  the  preponderating 
one  in  the  tide  rising  force,  while  that  of  the  sun  is  about  two- 
fifths  as  much  as  that  of  the  moon.  The  tides  therefore  follow 
the  motion  of  the  moon,  and  the  average  interval  between  the 
times  of  high  water  is  the  half  length  of  the  lunar  day,  or 
about  twelve  hours  and  twenty-five  minutes. 

The  tide-wave  always  travels  west.  When  the  configuration 
of  the  coast  line  drives  it  into  a  corner,  as  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy, 
or  the  mouth  of  the  Severn,  the  tides  rise  to  very  great  heights 
— fifty,  seventy-five,  or  even  one  hundred  feet.  The  lowest 
regular  tides  are  on  the  islands  in  raid-ocean. 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  HUDSOK 


In  addition  to  various  g-eological  references  scattered  throug-h 
these  pag-es  the  following-  facts  from  an  American  Geolog-ical 
Railway  Guide,  by  James  Macfarlane,  Ph.D.,  will  be  of  interest  . 

"The  State  of  New  York  is  to  the  g-eologist  what  the  Holy  Land 
is  to  the  Christian,  and  the  works  of  her  Palaeontolog^ist  are  the 
Old  Testament  Scriptures  of  the  science.  It  is  a  Laurentian, 
Cambrian,  Silurian  and  Devonian  State,  containing  all  the 
groups  and  all  the  formations  of  these  long-  ag-es,  beautifully  de- 
veloped in  belts  running  nearly  across  the  State  in  an  east  and 
west  direction,  lying  imdisturbed  as  originally  laid  down. 

"  The  rock  of  New  York  Island  is  gneiss,  except  a  portion  of  the 
north  end,  which  is  limestone.  The  south  portion  is  covered 
with  deep  alluvial  deposits,  which  in  some  places  are  more  than 
100  feet  in  depth.  The  natural  outcroppings  of  the  gneiss  ap- 
peared on  the  surface  about  16th  street,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
city,  and  run  diagonally  across  to  31st  street  on  10th  avenue. 
North  of  this,  much  of  the  surface  was  naked  rock.  It  contains 
a  large  proportion  of  mica,  a  small  proportion  of  quartz  and  still 
less  feldspar,  but  generally  an  abundance  of  iron  pyrites  in  very 
minute  crystals,  which,  on  exposure,  are  decomposed.  In  conse- 
quence of  these  ingredients  it  soon  disintegrates  on  exposure, 
rendering  it  unfit  for  the  purposes  of  building.  The  erection  of 
a  great  city,  for  which  this  island  furnishes  a  noble  site,  has  very 
greatly  changed  its  natural  condition.  The  geological  age  of 
oho  New  York  gneiss  is  undoubtedly  very  old,  not  the  Lauren- 
tian or  oldest,  nor  the  Huronian,  but  it  belongs  to  to  the  third  or 
V/hite  Mountain  series,  named  by  Dr.  Hunt  the  Montalban.  It 
is  the  same  range  which  is  the  basis  rock  of  nearly  all  the  great 

307 


308  THE  HUDSON. 

cities  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  It  crosses  New  Jersey  where  it  is 
turned  to  clay,  until  it  appears  under  Trenton,  and  it  extends  to 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Washington  and  Richmond,  Va.,  and 
probably  Boston,  Massachusetts,  is  founded  on  this  same  for- 
mation. 

' '  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  may  here  be  seen  for  many 
miles  the  Palisades,  a  long-,  roug-h  mountain  ridge  close  to  the 
water's  edge.  Its  upper  half  is  a  perpendicular  precipice  of  bare 
rock  of  a  columnar  structure  from  100  to  200  feet  in  height,  the 
whole  height  of  the  mountain  being  generally  from  400  to  600 
feet,  and  the  highest  point  in  the  range  opposite  Sing  Sing  800 
feet  above  the  Hudson,  and  known  as  the  High  Torn.  The  width 
of  the  mountain  is  from  a  half  mile  to  a  mile  and  a  half,  the 
western  slope  being  quite  gentle.  In  length  it  extends  from 
Bergen  Point  below  Jersey  City  to  Haverstraw,  and  then  west- 
ward in  all  48  miles,  the  middle  portion  being  merely  a  low  ridge. 
The  lower  half  of  the  ridge  on  the  river  side  is  as  loping  mound 
of  detritus,  of  loose  stones  which  has  accumulated  at  the  base  of 
the  cliff,  being  derived  from  its  weathered  and  wasted  surface. 
This  talus  and  the  summit  of  the  mountain  are  covered  with 
trees,  with  the  bare  rocky  precipice  called  the  Palisades  be, 
tween,  and  many  fine  country  residences  may  be  seen  on  the 
level  summit,  from  which  are  beautiful  views  of  the  river,  the 
harbor  and  City  of  New  York.  Viewed  from  the  railroad  or  from 
a  steamboat  on  the  river,  this  lofty  mural  precipice  with  its  huge 
weathered  masses  of  upright  columns  of  bare  rock,  presenting  a 
long,  straight  unbroken  ridge  overlooking  the  beautiful  Hudson 
River  J  is  certainly  extremely  picturesque.  Thousands  of  travel- 
ers gaze  at  it  daily  without  knowing  what  it  is.  This  entire 
ridge  consists  of  no  other  rock  than  trap  traversing  the  Triassic 
formation  in  a  huge  vertical  dike.  The  red  sandstone  formation 
of  New  Jersey  is  intersected  by  numerous  dikes  of  this  kind,  but 
this  is  much  the  finest.  The  materials  of  this  mountain  have 
undoubtedly  burst  through  a  great  rent  or  fissure  in  the  strata, 
overflowing  while  in  a  melted  or  plastic  condition  the  red  sand- 


THE    HUDSON.  309 

stone,  not  with  the  violence  of  a  volcano,  for  the  adjoining-  strata 
are  but  little  disturbed  in  position,  although  often  greatly  al- 
tered by  the  heat,  but  forced  up  very  slowly  and  gradually,  and 
probably  under  pressure.  Subsequent  denudation  has  laid  bare 
the  part  of  the  mountain  now  exposed  along  the  river.  The  rock 
is  columnar  basalt,  sometimes  called  greenstone,  and  is  solid, 
not  stratified  like  water-formed  rocks,  but  cracked  in  cooling  and 
of  a  crystalline  structure.  Here  is  a  remarkable  but  not  uncom- 
mon instance  of  a  great  geological  blank.  On  the  east  side  of 
this  river  the  formations  belong  to  the  first  or  oldest  series  of 
Primary  or  Crystalline  rocks,  while  on  the  west  side  they  are  all 
Triassic,  the  intermediate  Cambrian,  Silurian,  Devonian  and 
Carboniferous  formations  being  wanting.  This  state  of  things 
continues  all  along  the  Atlantic  coast  to  Georgia,  the  Cretaceous 
or  Jurassic  taking  the  place  of  the  Triassic  farther  south. 

' '  Montrose  to  Cornwall.  This  celebrated  passage  of  the  Hudson 
through  the  Highlands,  is  a  gorge  nearly  20  miles  long  from  3 
miles  south  of  Peekskill  to  Fishkill,  and  is  worn  out  of  the  Lau- 
rentian  rocks  far  below  mean  tide  water.  The  hills  on  its  sides 
rise  in  some  instances  as  much  as  1  800  feet,  and  in  many  places 
the  walls  are  very  precipitous.  The  rock  is  gneiss,  of  a  kind 
that  is  not  easily  disintegrated  or  eroded,  nor  is  there  any  evi- 
dence of  any  convulsive  movement.  It  is  clearly  a  case  of 
erosion,  but  not  by  the  present  river,  which  has  no  fall,  for  tide 
water  extends  100  miles  up  the  river  beyond  the  Highlands. 
This  therefore  was  probably  a  work  mainly  performed  in  some 
past  period  when  the  continent  was  at  a  higher  level.  Most 
likely  it  is  a  valley  of  great  antiquity. 

"Opposite  Fishkill  is  New  burgh,  which  is  in  the  great  valley  of 
Lower  Silurian  or  Cambrian  limestone  and  slate.  North  of  that, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  the  formations  occur  in  their  usual 
order,  their  outcrops  running  northeast  and  southwest.  On  the 
N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.,  on  the  east  side,  the  same  valley  crosses, 
and  the  slates  from  Fishkill  to  Rhinebeck  are  about  the  same 
place  in  the  series :  but  being  destitute  of  fossils  and  very  much 


310  THE  HUDSOlSi. 

faulted,  tilted  and  disturbed,  their  precise  geology  is  uncertain 
See  the  exposures  in  the  cuts  at  Poughkeepsie.  The  high 
ground  to  the  east  is  commonly  called  the  Quebec  group. 

"A  series  of  great  dislocations  with  upthrows  on  the  east  side 
traverse  eastern  North  America  from  Canada  to  Alabama.  One 
of  these  great  faults  has  been  traced  from  near  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  River,  keeping  mostly  under  the  water  up  to  Que- 
bec just  north  of  the  fortress,  thence  by  a  gently  curving  line  to 
Lake  Champlain  or  through  Western  Vermont  across  Washing- 
ton County,  N.  Y.,  to  near  Albany.  It  crosses  the  river  near 
Rhinebeck  15  miles  north  of  Poughkeepsie  and  continues  on 
southward  into  New  Jersey  and  runs  into  another  series  of  faults 
probably  of  a  later  date,  which  extends  as  far  as  Alabama.  It 
brings  up  the  rocks  of  the  so  called  Quebec  group  on  the  east 
side  of  the  fracture  to  the  level  of  the  Hudson  River  and  Trenton, 

"Catskill  Mountains.  For  many  miles  on  this  railroad  are 
beautiful  views  of  the  Catskill  Mountains,  3,800  feet  high,  sev- 
eral miles  distant  on  the  oj)posite  or  west  side  of  the  river,  and 
which  furnish  the  name  for  the  Catskill  formation.  The  wide 
valley  between  them  and  the  river  is  composed  of  Chemung, 
Hamilton,  Lower  Helderberg  and  Hudson  River.  The  geology 
on  the  east  or  railroad  side  is  entirely  different. 

"Albany.  The  clay  beds  at  Albany  are  more  than  100  feet 
thick,  and  between  that  city  and  Schenectady  they  are  under- 
laid by  a  bed  of  sand  that  is  in  some  places  more  than  50  feet 
thick.  There  is  an  old  glacial  clay  and  boulder  drift  below  the 
gravel  at  Albany,  but  Professor  Hall  says  it  is  not  the  estuary 
stratified  clay." 


